


Living in the Shadows of Heroes

by degenerate_otaku



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Comedy, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossing Timelines, Drama, F/M, Fantasy, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Love Triangles, Romance, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 42,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28547196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/degenerate_otaku/pseuds/degenerate_otaku
Summary: Goten has lived his whole life waiting for his moment to shine. His father and brother have saved the world and his best friend is a mega-rich CEO, how can he not envy them? All he has are his looks and romantic endeavours and when Goten finds himself falling for Trunks' girlfriend, the situation spirals and with an unfortunate wish, fate is changed completely... (AU)
Relationships: Son Goten/Original Female Character(s), Trunks Briefs/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 6





	1. "What's With the Suit?"

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Tysm for checking out my fic. I started this fic in May 2020, and will do my best to regularly upload on here. Please enjoy!  
> You can also find me on fanfiction.net and tumblr under the same username ♡

"Goten!" Chi-Chi yelled in his ear. "Ugh…you're just like your father!" She handed him a broom and dustpan. "Just clean this mess up and please try not to break any more of my good china plates with your clumsiness." His mother sighed and he rolled his eyes as he swept up the broken pieces of the plate he had accidentally knocked from the table.

Most tended to compare him to his father, especially with the looks. It began to bother him as he aged, so he decided to get a different hairstyle, one much less palm tree-like.

"And go get something else to wear! I don't want my boy looking like some delinquent, what kind of example would it set to Pan?!" She ordered him, as she frantically finished up what she was cooking, which as always, smelt delightful.

"Mom, calm down! It's only Gohan and Videl, it isn't like they care about what I'm wearing or about the fancy plates." He rolled his eyes again as he put the broom away and his mother admitted, "I know! It's just…Gohan always has us over, and everything is so lovely! I just thought it would be nice to put some effort in, we hardly have visitors, so why not?" She continued to cook her meal, and then told Goten to hurry, that they'd be here any minute.

He threw on something that was a bit more formal, though not enough to make Pan laugh at him. Goten always felt weird calling Pan his niece, the girl had no respect for him anyway, or for anyone for that matter.

The doorbell chimed, and Chi-Chi warmly welcomed her eldest son in by hugging him for much too long.

"Oh, Gohan, it's been so long, I thought you were forgetting your mommy!"

Gohan nervously chuckled, "Mom, I saw you a week ago…" Chi-Chi looked surprised, stating it felt like much longer. She greeted Videl and Pan, who Goten thought had equally loud, brash personalities, but never said that in front of them, for the fear of being greeted with a slap across the face.

"Wow, Grandma, this looks great!" Pan's eyes widened at the plethora of food set on the table.

"Thank you Chi-Chi, it looks delightful." Videl smiled at her mother-in-law. Goten was first to sit at the table, serving himself, ensuring his plate was piled up high.

_**THWACK!** _

"Ow! Mom, what was that for?!" Goten rubbed the back of his head where he had been struck, seemingly out of nowhere. "Guests first, Goten!"

Pan snickered as the food was snatched from Goten to be given to her. Even Gohan and Videl couldn't hide their laughter.

Eventually, they all had something on their plates, Goten being last. The family were rather cramped around the small wooden table, which had been in the house for many years.

"Mm! This is amazing! Grandma, can we have the recipe? We can have the servants make it, so we'll never miss your cooking!" Pan's rather annoying voice blared, and Chi-Chi offered, "Hey, you can come round any time, I'm not busy! Well…apart from nagging Goten to get a job." She sipped her drink and Goten held his tongue.

"Goten, I thought you were going to that interview?" Gohan asked, furthering the topic of conversation which Goten desperately wanted to move from.

"Well-" He began.

"Oh, honestly, you have time to date girls but not to find a decent line of work!?" Chi-Chi interrupted before he could have a chance to defend himself.

"What girl would wanna date _you_ , anyway?!" Pan burst out, laughing again, at which Videl scolded her, though she too, wanted to laugh.

"One much nicer than _you…_ " Goten muttered under his breath, before tearing a piece of meat from a leg of roasted chicken.

"Hey! I heard that!" Pan kicked him from under the table.

Goten decided to ignore her for a while, peacefully eating his food and staying out of conversation, until she kicked him again. He knew it was childish, but kicked her back. She yelped loudly, though Goten had hardly put any force in.

"Uncle Goten kicked me!" She pointed at him, playing the victim, a smirk on her face as everyone scolded Goten.

"She's your niece, what is with you?!" Videl gasped in shock at him.

"Goten, if you're going to act like a child, go to your room!" Chi-Chi shouted.

"What?! No way!" He protested but seeing the faces of his family, staring in disgust was enough to tell him he wasn't wanted.

He made his way upstairs, and threw on his comfy, 'delinquent' clothes, before sitting on his bed and grabbing his phone, distracting him from the sounds of joyous laughter downstairs, his own family, better off without him. On his phone, he had no notifications. _'Dang, these hoes ain't even gonna call back?'_ He thought, getting frustrated, feeling like he was the only one alone these days.

None of his relationships lasted very long, nor did any jobs he had. Recently, he had been working the land as his father once did, though those days felt like long ago now, selling the vegetables they had grown. Since Goku had left, he noticed the harvests getting less plentiful each year, and they hardly earned money from farming.

 _'Oh, Dad…I am really beginning to hate your absent ass.'_ He sighed, that not even his own father really wanted him. He couldn't be bothered to come back for him after Cell. Then, he went off again after the tournament, never had he been seen again. Goten had lost the hope of seeing him again, he hardly cared anymore, all his father became was the person he was most often compared to, of which there was a few.

The disgraced Saiyan-hybrid hadn't even realised how long he had been lost in his own thoughts, but eventually Videl and Pan were leaving. Gohan unexpectedly entered his room.

"Hey, bro." Gohan grinned, sitting himself on the egde of the bed.

" _What_?" Goten asked, sounding like he was accusing him of something.

"What do you mean, what? I just wanted to talk to my little brother, that's all!" Gohan maintained his warm smile, which tended to be a ray of sunshine to all, reassuring to him as a child, but now as obnoxious as his daughter.

"Goten, you really need to find some work!" Gohan tried to be helpful, as usual, kind and honest, though repeating something Goten already knew did nothing to aid him.

"You don't think I know that?" He rudely stated, though a part of him knew his brother didn't deserve that kind of treatment. "Look, I'm sorry Gohan, I didn't mean to snap at you, or be rude at dinner, but could you just leave me alone? I really don't want to hear it…" Goten stared out of the window, the beauty of the landscape intensified by the sunset.

"I understand that…but I have an idea." Goten turned to his brother. "Why don't you work at Capsule Corp?" Gohan suggested.

"What would I do there?" Goten shot down the idea.

"C'mon you haven't given it a chance! Trunks would love having you around! Speaking of Trunks, how is he? I've been meaning to catch up with him, but he's so busy! Well…I guess he is the company President…"

Gohan brought up his best friend, though as of late, they hadn't talked much.

"Trunks? Yeah, he's _so_ busy…so busy in fact, he hasn't the time for his best friend!" Goten scoffed.

"What happened? Have you two fallen out again?" Gohan asked, playing big brother, just like he used to when Goten and Trunks would get into silly fights with each other and claim they hated one another, but would very soon change their minds.

"No, it's just that he hasn't the time to even fucking call me, yet he goes on dates with his girlfriend all the time!" Gohan sighed, not knowing how to help his brother.

"Please, just…interview with them tomorrow, it'll get Mom off your back if she knows you at least tried!"

"Fine…" He agreed and his brother made his goodbyes, along with his family, who were almost so perfect it was aggravating.

* * *

  
"Mom, I'm going now! I'll be back by 4!" Goten told her just as he opened the door.

"Wait!" She called out to him, running down the stairs and making sure he looked perfect for his interview.

"Mom…" He shook her off and she beamed,

"There, now you look smart and handsome, just like Gohan!" Goten fiddled with his suit.

"Ugh, it's so uncomfortable!" He complained as he walked out of their quaint home.

"Just like his father…" Chi-Chi said to herself as Goten flew off. He would have taken Nimbus, if only he was still pure enough.

The greenery subsided, replaced with roads and buildings. He landed and adjusted his suit again, before striding into the centre of West City, a town he knew very well. The buildings stretched up into the clouds, Capsule Corp Headquarters being the largest of them, further off into the distance.

 _'Maybe I'll visit Bulma later…'_ He thought, knowing their grand house was incredibly close to where their business was ran. _'I bet Trunks would never be late to work…'_

He entered the office on the ground floor, where a rather gorgeous receptionist sat at her desk, typing into her computer. Goten smiled and told her about the interview.

"Take a seat for now, you're early." She answered and he sat on a chair in the office, taking notice of the other candidates. People often said life was like a competition, so Goten weighed up his chances of victory and remembered the many, many words of advice his mother frantically told him in the morning.

 _'Ok…all I have to do is smile, be polite and I should be fine.'_ He took a deep breath, shaking off all nervousness, though it came back when he was called in.

Another girl, prettier than the other, he decided, led him in and began to conduct the interview.

"So…your name is-" She began, flicking through files.

"Goten." He stated, and her eyes widened.

"Wait…you're Trunks' best friend, _right_?" She asked and he, slightly freaked out by how she knew, nodded.

"Oh, he talks so much about you, I was wondering when we would actually meet!"

Goten looked puzzled, and then she revealed, "Wait, you really don't know I'm Trunks' girlfriend?"

It was Goten's turn to be stunned now.

" _You're_ Noudelle!?" She nodded to his question.

"Yeah, I can't believe he hasn't shown you a picture! Anyway, we can talk more about that later, I need to conduct this interview." She cleared her throat and got out a fancy ink pen, the type of pen Trunks would use.

"So, what makes you wanna work here?" She inquired.

Goten was slightly distracted by trying to understand what made Trunks fall for her. The raven hair, which was straight and fell just past her shoulders, dyed red at the bottom? Those dark onyx eyes, which had such a piercing gaze? Or _perhaps_ …something beyond her appearance, which Goten thought wasn't the most professional, especially the drawings on her hand and those sparkling star shaped earrings, the kind a magical girl from an anime would wear?

"Hm? What brought you here then?" Noudelle asked again.

"Oh, sorry! Well, to be completely honest, I only wanted a job here because I thought it would be easy…what with my best friend being the boss, and all." He wasn't sure why he admitted that so casually.

"I just **really** need a job, I don't care what it is…anything to get my mom to shut up!" He felt rude for saying that and quickly apologised, saying he was just stressed, but instead she giggled and remarked, "Yeah, I know the feeling, that's why I moved to West City!" Goten sighed, relieved, and she continued, "You're lucky I'm interviewing you, the others employees who do this are so rude…and also, I don't think Trunks would like it if I kicked you to the kerb."

She kept on interviewing him, slightly changing his answers to make him seem more employable.

"So, you don't mind the type of job?" She scribbled down his answer to the previous question and he thought for a moment.

"I mean...as long as I'm getting paid, you know?" He shrugged and she agreed, "Yeah, fair enough…the good thing about dating your boss is-"

"You get a shit ton of money?" He rudely interrupted and she laughed again, "No! That makes me sound like I'm dating him for money! The good thing is, I got a promotion! I was just his secretary, now I do this too."

Goten thought again for a moment and joked, "Well, technically…you _are_ getting more money because of it-"

"Oh, shut up!" She grinned and finished up writing things down. "Well, Goten, I see a job for you here in the future…thanks to me and how nice I am."

"Of course." He chuckled.

"I hope to see you again soon, Goten, I can't wait to see the look on Trunks' face when I tell him about this!" They shook hands, still laughing slightly, and Goten exited in a much better mood.

* * *

"Hey, Ms. Briefs!" Goten smiled as Panchy opened the door, oven mitts her hands. "Oh, hello Goten! Boy, has it been a long time! Come on in, I was just making cookies, they're nearly done." She led him in and examined his outfit. "I almost thought you were Gohan when you came in, what's with the suit? You on a date again?" She winked and Goten blushed.

"No, and since when do I wear a suit to a date?" He sat on a hovering chair by the kitchen counter.

"Since ladies like a man like that! Or at least they did in my day…oh goodness, look at me ramble on…I'm getting so old." She sighed, though Goten was confused as to why she would think that, when any signs of aging were unnoticeable on her face, just as always.

"So tell me then, why the suit?" She changed the subject as she took the cookies out of the oven.

"Well, you see-" He reached for a cookie which she set on the counter. " **OW!** " He exclaimed, and she warned him they were hot, though it was rather late for that after he had lightly burned his hand.

"Oh, hey Goten, what brings you here?" Bulma greeted him as she came down the stairs. "And what's with the suit?" She added. "Makes you look so handsome, like Trunks!" Before Goten could answer, she continued, "Oh, isn't my Trunks so lovely? He does such a good job running the business, and his girlfriend is great too, have you met her?"

"Well-" Just as he was about to tell them, Bulla opened the door, dramatically beginning to rant about her day at school.

"So you'll never believe it, I-" She saw Goten and howled with laughter. "Ok, nevermind, whatever's going on here is more important, clearly! What are you doing in that?! It's not like you ever work!"

"Don't laugh, I think he looks nice!" Panchy chimed in. "You see-" Goten began again but Vegeta waltzed in from the time chamber.

"Woman! Get me a drying cloth!" He demanded and Bulma reprimanded him, "Vegeta, not this again…"

He scoffed, folding his arms and turned to Goten.

"Don't tell me you're becoming like your brother? Never trains, yet he has so much potential." The Prince of Saiyans grumbled and Goten, who was becoming very fed up, tried to speak again, but Dr. Briefs came in.

"Oh, we have a visitor!" His cat, Scratch, mewled, as it clinged to his shoulder and whilst he pet it, the retired inventor asked, just like everyone else, "It's been a long time, Goten! What's with the-"

Goten had finally had enough and snapped before anyone else could speak over him, " **I WENT FOR AN INTERVIEW AT CAPSULE CORP!** " There was a moment of silence.

"Calm down honey, here have a cookie!" Panchy offered and as he munched on it, the sweetness making everything much more bearable, the family questioned him again.

"Your mom make you do it?" Bulma asked, knowing what Chi-Chi was like as she ate a cookie.

"It was Gohan's idea. I'm glad I did it though, the interview went well…I think." He wasn't sure how they'd react to the next part. "And…you'll never believe it, the girl interviewing me was Noudelle!"

"Ugh, she's so annoying! Couldn't Trunks have found a prettier girl? Or one that knows how to style her own hair at least!" Bulla complained and her mother admitted, after scolding her for being rude, "Well, ok, she's a little strange but she means the world to Trunks!"

"You really hadn't met her before?" Panchy was shocked that he hadn't, though it didn't stop her from handing out cookies to everyone, even the Prince, who surprisingly took one. Goten mentioned, "No, I haven't even seen Trunks since my birthday."

"The boy works hard!" Dr. Briefs defended his grandson as he put out cigar. Goten wasn't sure whether to take the comment as an insult or as a prideful boast.

"Anyway, I thought she was nice…and I hope I get a job there…whatever it may be." He caught sight of the clock and told them he should be going.

"Aw, why, we hardly have you around anymore!" Bulma persuaded him to stay a while but Goten had to refuse. Eating a few more cookies wasn't worth facing his mother's wrath over.

"We'll tell Trunks to call you…when he isn't busy bending Noudelle over his desk." Bulla said, as she walked upstairs, the last part of her sentence inaudible, yet Goten was sure he heard it, though decided to shake that thought off.

"See ya!" He waved goodbye, finally leaving before he went insane. Goten wondered how Trunks put up with them every day.

* * *

  
"So, how did it go!?" Chi-Chi quizzed him the moment he opened the door. "Did you get the job!?"

"Uh…I don't know, they'll ring me, I guess." Goten went up to his room and practically threw himself on his bed. 'Socialising is exhausting.'

He must have fallen asleep, since it was almost sunset when he opened his eyes. His mother did scold him for being up so late at night, telling him of the repercussions, which she happened to be right about, on this occasion.

His ringtone blared. It was Trunks, finally, after so long. "Hey, Trunks!" He answered, forgetting he should be mad at him for being so distant.

"Sup' Goten!" Goten almost dropped his phone upon hearing it was Noudelle.

"Bet you didn't expect me, huh?"

"No, but I'll gladly accept it!" Goten stated, and Noudelle explained, "Trunks left his phone in his office, I'm going to give it to him."

"And…you decided to call me? On his phone?" Goten raised an eyebrow, though she couldn't see.

"Well, I dunno, I was bored and I wanted to see your reaction…well hear it anyway." She confessed awkwardly then gasped, "Hey, guess what?!"

"What?!"

"You got a job in the factory!" She congratulated him and Goten asked, "Wait, so what will I be doing?"

"Oh, you know, you're super strong like Trunks, so you'll probably be moving parts around."

'She probably has no idea about just how strong we really are…'

"Cool…so when do I start?" He grabbed a pen, ready to write it down on his hand, since he was awful with dates and times.

"Tomorrow at 9am sharp!" She revealed.

" _Tomorrow_?!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, sorry about that…we are really understaffed, the company has taken a few hits in recent years…well that's what I heard Trunks saying in one of his meetings…which I most definitely was not eavesdropping on!" She blatantly lied but Goten didn't care. He thanked her and she hung up before she promised she would make Trunks call him, for real this time, of which he didn't, though Goten wasn't bothered, at least he had a job.

When he gave the good news to his mother, she seemed overjoyed, so much in fact, that she began to talk about Goten's future, deciding everything for him, as usual. Growing up, he was never sure on what to do with himself. Trunks had his future laid out for him from the start and Gohan was determined to be a scholar; his intelligence far above average since birth.

Goten knew his father wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. He couldn't believe it when his mother told him his father believed marriage was some sort of food. In a way, it made him feel better. Even if he wasn't some genius, at least he wasn't that idiotic. 'Misguided' or 'unambitious' were the words that many often used to describe him, especially in school.

It was hard seeing others suceed where he failed, and hurt when people compared him to them, though he did his best to be happy for others around him, even if they were doing much better than he could ever hope to achieve. He could only hope that now, instead of the constant downward spiral he had been on since he was 13, he could finally move up in the world, albeit in a different way his mother wanted.

"Oh, Goten, I can't wait for you to be married and have kids! Then both of my little boys will be happy…"

Chi-Chi sniffed, clasping her hands together and staring off into the darkened sky.

"Mom…"

"Hm?" She turned, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Nothing, I, uh, just wanted to tell you I start tomorrow." He gave up on what he was going to say instead.

"Oh. Good night, Goten."

"Night, mom." He went back to his room and did his best to sleep early, knowing it would be best to try and remedy his insufficient sleep schedule, which hadn't been normal since he had to go to school, and even then, he would be typically late.

* * *

  
"And here's your uniform!" A cute worker smiled at him, blushing at his visible muscles.

_'Dang, Trunks got so many hotties working here!'_

"Is that too tight?" She asked, feeling him up a little.

"Nah, I'll be ok…but if you like the feel of that, just wait 'til-"

"Hey Goten!" Noudelle came up to him and the other girl left, to Goten's dismay. 'I was really hoping to get her number…' He greeted her back and she asked if he was ready for his first job.

"Ok, you need to move those parts in loads and put them into the machine, you've been shown how to do it already, right?" He nodded and showed her, though to him the loads were light.

"Jeez, you really are strong!" She gasped. To impress her, he grabbed many large parts at a time and placed them all onto the conveyor belt, where they would be taken into the next stage of production.

"Woah! I'm glad we hired you, you'll do all of this in no time at all!" She praised him and he joked,

"You think I'll get a raise or a promotion like you? I do know Trunks very well too." He smugly stated and she laughed that cute laugh.

"Yeah, well I dunno about that. Also, that reminds me, Trunks wants to see you during your break…which should be in 2 hours." She looked at her watch and Goten sarcastically told her, "Oh, I'm so glad I get to talk to my best friend, who couldn't be bothered to call me, during my free time!"

"Don't be like that, it's hard for him!" She defended him. "Sure, it must be, being one of the richest people in existence! He could retire tomorrow if he wanted." Goten himself wasn't even sure where such bitterness came from, he supposed he always had it in him.

"Well…maybe you can see him more often now." She walked out, still a faint smile on her face. Goten got straight to work, the other employees impressed. It was menial labour, with some use of machinery. Goten was childishly hoping to do some more science related things, like seeing new inventions or something cool, but he supposed they hid their inventions so no-one would steal. The morning dragged on, but his break did eventually come and he was called up to Trunks' office.

Standing outside the door, an interesting feeling of nervousness went through him. It was strange, his best friend being such a serious, responsible man. He stopped dwelling on his thoughts surrounding him and opened the door…


	2. Kids, Am I right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've made it this far, congratulations! If you're enjoying please consider giving kudos or even a comment if you're feeling that nice ♡

The door swung open.

Trunks swivelled around in his chair, resting his shoes on the edge of the desk, their black glossiness reflecting in the light. He stroked a small cat, sitting comfortably on his lap and, like a menacing movie villain welcomed with, "I've been expecting you, Goten!"

"Shit, how long have you been waiting to do that?!" Goten laughed, and Trunks casually stated, "Oh, you know, basically all morning. I even brought Scratch in for full effect, so don't say I don't put effort in!" The tiny feline meowed and Trunks continued, "So, how are you?"

_'Weeks of not talking and this is what he asks?'_

"Me? Uh, yeah, I'm cool." He acted like he hadn't a single problem with Trunks' absence, and it was evident Trunks was avoiding it too.

"So, uh, how are you finding working here?" He asked, adjusting his glasses; which Goten wasn't exactly sure he needed.

"Well, the day's been great so far, and…I get to finally talk to you, so…" Goten stopped his charade of being content, and Trunks rubbed the back of his head guiltily, avoiding making direct eye contact with his friend.

"Yeah…about _that_ …" Goten was ready to finally hear the excuses. "Look, I'm really sorry Goten, the company is just going through a tough time, and I just needed to stay focused."

"Your girlfriend is the secretary, is that not distracting?" Goten asked, not accepting Trunks' answer.

"Well, that's different…and…" He sighed, taking his legs down from the table, causing the cat to jump down from his lap. "Ok, ok, I know, I've been a shitty friend. But…how 'bout I make it up to you?" From his desk, he pulled out a box from the drawer, placing it in front of Goten, who walked over and opened it up.

"Ta-da!" Trunks smiled. "It's a new Capsule Corp model watch!" He took it out, it was gold, with a screen that could project various things.

"I've only got the old model; this hasn't even come in stores yet!" Trunks carried on, but Goten was having none of it.

"I know you're a billionaire, but did no-one tell you, friendship isn't something you can _buy_?!" He snapped, returning the watch. This hadn't been the first time Trunks had done something to him and tried to throw money at the problem.

Trunks stared silently. He had always known Goten, he knew it wasn't often his friend voiced his anger. Feeling truly sorry, Trunks asked, "Well…is there anything else I can do to show I'm really sorry?"

Goten stared out of the large glass windows, looking down at the city beneath him, the people milling about below looking like ants, he took notice of the city's shopping mall; the most popular mall on the continent, and for good reason. He recalled how every summer the place would be filled, all the good times he would have with Trunks, as well as the many dates he went on in high school.

"Let's go to West Mall!" Goten suggested, and Trunks chuckled, "You're serious?!"

"Yeah, c'mon let's go have fun, we always used to hang out there!" He came back up to his desk, leaning over him, a grin on his face.

"I mean…I can't right now! I've got a meeting later and-" He began making more excuses, and Goten interrupted, "Trunks! You're the boss of this place! Just say we'll be leaving for an hour!"

Trunks sighed, and picked up the phone on his desk.

"Hey, 'Delle we'll be back in an hour, love ya!" He said quickly, then slammed down the phone before she could get a word in, leaving Goten surprised to see his friend act like his old self again.

Trunks grabbed his jacket and left his glasses behind, and the pair made their way out of the building as other workers stared and whispered, the girls especially.

"Oh, it’s not fair! All the girls wanna fuck you!" Goten whined and Trunks smugly said, " _I wonder why…_ " He winked at the girls as he entered the elevator door, all of them blushing.

"Damn, why don't they do that for me!?" Goten complained, and Trunks remarked that it was kinda annoying, and that Noudelle didn't appreciate it.

_'Only he could complain about girls wanting to suck his dick.'_

Soon, they were out in the city's busy streets, neither caring about their appearance, which they both joked about. "The suit makes you look dorkier than Gohan, even without the glasses!" Goten howled with laughter, and Trunks retorted back, "My mom said you were wearing a suit yesterday too! Besides, look at your uniform!" They casually strolled down the street, and entered the shopping mall, as they talked about various things.

"So, what's new?" Trunks inquired, ignoring the bewildered stares he got from others, since he was almost like a celebrity in the city.

"Huh? Oh, not much…my mom is being a pain-"

"I said ' **what's new** '." Trunks reiterated, and Goten thought about it for a moment. "Well…I mean…I've got this job, …uh…"

" _Still_ no girlfriend?" Trunks teased, knowing how to push Goten's buttons.

Goten blushed and lied, "Of course I do! It's…just kinda complicated right now." He laughed nervously, and Trunks pretended to believe him.

Itching to change the subject from himself, Goten asked, "So, when's the wedding? Also, does Noudelle have a hot sister or cousin?!" Goten asked, mostly serious, and Trunks informed him that they were taking things slow.

"You haven't met her family yet?" Goten said, taking multiple free samples from a food stall, and Trunks shook his head. "Not yet, but she said maybe next month."

The pair messed around for a while, eating snacks from stalls, and checking out all the stores they used to visit as kids. Goten gradually forgot he was mad at Trunks a few hours ago, and for a while it felt like they were free; allowed to be whoever they wanted, without responsibilities.

**BEEP! BEEP!**

"Oh, shit! I'm gonna be late to the meeting!" Trunks checked his rhythmically beeping watch and turned to leave, but Goten stopped him.

"C'mon it doesn't matter; they'll wait for you! Let's go to the arcade!" He dragged his friend over, who was reluctant.

"Goten, I-" Trunks protested, and Goten taunted him.

"What, you afraid I'll beat you in all the games?"

"No, I-" He began, but Goten once again pushed things too far, "Or has being a CEO made you a boring little **pussy** who's too scared to break the rules?" He smirked and Trunks replied with, "No, Goten, I just have responsibilities that are more important than moving parts in a warehouse!" He walked out, and Goten begged him for just one game on their favourite machine, to which he agreed.

"Alright!" Goten exclaimed as he put in two coins.

"You _do_ remember how to play I hope, Mr. Briefs?" Goten put on a posh voice, and Trunks told him to shut up, though he was about to laugh too. They played more than one round, eventually moving to more games. Trunks admitted he looked weird wearing such a formal outfit in an arcade, and Goten agreed.

"Why don't you win at a claw machine? Noudelle would like that, right?" Goten suggested, and Trunks sighed, going against his better judgement. Goten knew Trunks to be someone who was very precise. He was good at claw machines, since his sister used to beg him to get him a toy, and he would have to do it to make her shut up. With a few tries, he was able to pluck an adorable teddy, holding a heart.

"God, we really should be going, we've been here for way too long!" Trunks mentioned, and this time Goten agreed, though he was glad he was able to persuade his friend to loosen up.

* * *

  
"Hi, Goten!" Noudelle came up to him during his lunch break. He greeted her in return, and she asked about his first day at work. He told her how hard he had been working, and she raised an eyebrow.

"So…you _definitely_ didn't go to the mall with Trunks for half the day?" She had caught him red-handed, and he apologised rapidly.

"Don't worry! You aren't being fired…in fact, I'm thanking you!" She smiled, and Goten stared back in confusion. "Huh? For making Trunks late to his so-called 'important' meeting?"

"Ok, well… _maybe_ you shouldn't have gone for that long…but, I am glad you've finally gotten him to lighten up!"

She began walking towards her desk, and Goten followed.

"Besides, now I have this cute little fella!" She showed him the fluffy bear which sat on her desk.

"Oh, isn't Trunks just the sweetest!?" She blushed, and some of the other girls rolled their eyes, clearly jealous.

"The bear was my brilliant idea, by the way." He boasted, and she smirked, "Oh, I see! You're such a romantic...I bet your girlfriend is a lucky lady!" It was evident she knew that Goten was single.

"Haha. Very funny." He sarcastically said, and she tried to cheer him up, reminding him that there were plenty of girls who would love to be with him, though he wasn't that sure.

"Hey, I'm being serious!" She sipped her coffee, and offered him a biscuit, which he of course accepted.

"Maybe when you get a girlfriend, you can come on a double date with me and Trunks!" She kindly offered, making Goten almost choke on his biscuit. He recalled the last time he went on a double date and the girl he was dating soon became much more interested in Trunks than him… though, that was in high school, and he figured he was far more mature now, though not many agreed.

"Uh…sure…" He lied and she seemed delighted.

"It's so nice to talk to you Goten, I'm glad Trunks is friends with someone like you!" She hugged him, and went back to sit at her desk as break ended. He walked off, blushing, wiping the crumbs off his face and winking at the girls, putting on his carefree, flirty persona; which always pleased them.

* * *

The rest of the working day came to an end.

Goten had learnt quite a lot in one day, more so about Trunks and Noudelle than his actual job, which wasn't the most stimulating. He couldn't complain though, it was easy for someone with powers regarded as supernatural, and it made a tidy paycheck.

When he made it home, his mother wasted no time in asking questions. He answered all of them in a way that would please her, and she warned him that if he were to be fired that he would be kicked out of the house, though she did say that last time, and the time before.

Finally, Goten spied an opportunity to sneak off to his room, whilst his mother's back was turned.

He placed one foot on the step, before instantly regretting his decision; he had forgotten it was the creaky one. Chi-Chi turned around from the sink and growled, "Don't think you can just leave mid-conversation to go and do nothing! You _never_ help me at all! Do you want me to be your servant?!" She menacingly came up to him, holding a rolling pin, striking fear into his heart as it would do for anyone, even someone like Frieza.

"How do you expect to find a wife?!" She whacked him on the head, and he winced. She soon calmed down, after remembering that he had a job now, and a concussion wouldn't be good for his attendance.

"Make yourself useful, and take this over to Gohan's house." She handed him a bag filled with old textbooks. He wanted desperately to forget those times of relentlessly studying, though he knew Gohan had it worse. "I want my granddaughter to be just as smart as her daddy!" She beamed, proudly.

"Oh, and take this too!" She put another box in the bag. "Pan liked this dessert and I had some left over."

"I was gonna eat that…" Goten mumbled, and Chi-Chi pretended not to hear him, waving him off as he set out into the evening sky to the elegant mansion Gohan and his family lived in.

He knocked on the door, almost dropping the stack of books he held in one arm. Videl opened it, and greeted him though she was feigning her delight in her obviously fake smile.

"Uh, my mom told me to drop these off, it's textbooks for Pan…and she gave some of that dessert from the other day…so I'd put that in the fridge…if I were you." He awkwardly told her, smiling.

"Right, well that's nice of her…tell her we said thanks…" Videl was about to close the door on the exhausted Saiyan-hybrid, who didn't really mind, since he longed to go home, but Gohan stopped her, welcoming him in. He refused at first, but saw a plethora of food being taken into their dining room and decided to join them, just for a little while.

 _'God, the fancy-ness still surprises me…'_ He thought, looking around the place as Gohan led him in, chattering on about things he didn't care about. He stopped to call Pan down from upstairs. The girl reluctantly came downstairs, and briefly greeted her uncle before turning around to climb back up the stairs.

"Pan!" Gohan called out to her, and she came back, rolling her eyes. "Grandma's given you some nice new textbooks and some dessert!" He held up one of the books to her and smiled, "Wow, I remember these! Good times…" He flicked through them, full of nostalgia.

"Um…dad? No offense, but having good memories of studying is a little sad." Pan told him, before taking the books away, leaving the dessert; which was swiftly taken away by one of their servants.

"Well…hurry up and come down for dinner!" Gohan told her and sighed, "Kids, am I right?"

Goten laughed nervously; not understanding his brother's point of view. It sounded like he had said that line various times, always having to act like the responsible adult he was. Goten admittedly envied many things about Gohan, but that wasn't one of them, though he was certain that, like him, he wasn’t exactly content with his life.

They went into the spacious dining room and Goten sat down, finally being served first. He preferred being a dinner guest, rather than a host. Forgetting his mother advised him to be quick; he began eating the delectable meal. It wasn't as good as his mother's cooking, nothing ever was, but at least the chair was far more comfortable than the old broken ones at home, and he was sitting away from Pan, so that another incident would not occur.

"So, Pan, do you like the books?" Gohan asked his ungrateful brat of a child, who didn't even thank Goten earlier.

"…sure. I mean, I like the dessert more, obviously, and I already have tons of better, newer books…but yeah."

Goten wanted to mumble something under his breath, but his brutal honesty usually got him in trouble, and it would be rude to say what was on his mind at someone else's house.

"Aren't you going to thank Uncle Goten?" Her father said, and gave her a stern look, but she didn't look up from her phone.

"Pan?" Gohan asked again, and received no response.

"Pan!" He exclaimed and she looked up for a moment, shoving some food in her mouth. "Pan, what did we say about phones during meals?" Goten stayed quiet, hoping his older brother would actually discipline his daughter for once.

"I dunno." She spoke; full of attitude, and went back to playing some game on her phone.

Goten had flashbacks to when his mother would give him a good slap if he were ever to act like that, especially during dinner.

"Pan, give me the phone." Gohan calmly ordered her.

"No way, you're gonna go through it again and ask if I have a boyfriend or something!" She refused, and Gohan instructed her to hand it over.

 _'I wonder how she likes being the one disrupting family meals!'_ Goten thought as he kept eating, silently observing the whole ordeal, but rooting for Gohan, as always.

"Just **leave** it." Videl told him, sipping her wine. "Let's not repeat what happened last time in front of our guest!" She spoke, through gritted teeth and faked a smile. "Videl, the girl _needs_ discipline!" Gohan argued, and Pan rolled her eyes again.

 _'It's taken him **this** long to realise?!'_ Goten shovelled some more food into his mouth, and Pan reminded them, "I'm right here, you know!"

"Pan, I would like for you to calm down and finish your dinner in a polite manner, please." Gohan respectfully asked, in a much less threatening manner than his mother ever did. "Please give me your phone, you may have it back after you've eaten."

 _'I wonder how he became such a good father…I guess Piccolo must have taught him a thing or two._ ' Goten thought, and once again Pan protested, and Gohan swiftly told her she was grounded, to which she had a slight tantrum as a reaction, displaying how spoiled she was.

"You and mom are always so mean to me, you _never_ let me do anything!" She stood up from her chair, nearly knocking her rather full plate of food over, and Goten was doing his best not to burst into a fit of laughter.

"Young lady, you will stay in your room and we will have this conversation later." Gohan hid his anger, something he was very good at doing. Videl stayed silent, an unusual thing for someone like her to do.

Pan, full of rage, yelled, "I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!"

She then zoomed off upstairs, crying as if she were the victim. Goten hid his smirk by eating the rest of the scrumptious meal, and eventually ate the very same dessert he dropped off.

"Kids. Am I right?" Goten awkwardly repeated what his brother had said during the long, uncomfortable silence between the family, who noticeably sat far apart, even Gohan and Videl; who Goten tended to see as a solid, loving couple, though the family did seem a little off recently, even Pan was usually less petulant.

Night came, and Goten had to leave, suddenly remembering what his mother had said after eating her dessert. He said his goodbyes to them, and left, somewhat eager to tell his mother what had happened, just so he could see her typical over-reaction, which ended up being just as dramatic as he predicted.

* * *

The next day, Goten went to work in the factory, this time doing a full day's worth of work, instead of skipping, like he would in school.

 _'What's the point of having actual people work here? Don't they have crazy technology to do it instead?'_ He wondered, pessimistically, lifting a huge crate filled with iron bars with one hand, leaving the rest of the workers in shock.

He tipped the contents of the crate into the furnace, which would melt the metal, and almost dropped the crate itself when he got a tap on the shoulder.

"Surprise!" Noudelle startled him, and he wasn't too happy about it.

"I nearly dropped that; I could have been in a ton of trouble!" He grumbled, and she waved it off, reassuring him that the head of this department was fairly nice, especially to new employees.

"Besides, I wouldn't let you be fired, would I now?"

Goten supposed not, but he decided to continue working instead of being distracted by Noudelle.

"Don't you have anything better to do than bother me?" Goten chuckled, and she stood thinking for a moment as he loaded another crate of metal bars into the machine.

"Hmm…no, I don't think so! Unless you count taking biscuits to Trunks something." She sat on an empty bench where there were no crates. Upon watching Goten work, she teased, "So, are you as ridiculously strong as Trunks?"

"I dunno, it's been ages since I fought him." He proceeded to mock Trunks for not training, like his brother, and boasted that he could probably beat him now using one arm.

" _Really_? I'll be sure to tell him that after I give him the daily report!" She smirked, and Goten immediately told her he was joking, though a part of him secretly hoped he was stronger than him.

"Also…' _daily report_ '? You sure that's not code for daily fucking?" He raised an eyebrow, and she blushed, asking, "Wouldn't you like to know?" Before leaving, presumably to do something for Trunks.

* * *

  
"You called, sir?" Goten pretended to be polite and respectful as he entered Trunks' office.

"So, where we goin' today?" He inquired, sitting down in front of his desk. Trunks sipped some scotch from a glass and sighed, "Uh, Goten…buddy, were you making jokes with my girlfriend?" Goten was puzzled but told the truth, "Yeah…we're **friends** , why?"

Trunks took a deep breath and warned him, "Listen, could you _not_ make flirtatious jokes with her?" Goten's jaw dropped. How could he be like this?

"You're serious?! Trunks, I know you're all gentleman-ly and that, you don't do that kinda thing…but I was just messing with her! It wasn't flirting! Do you really think I would hit on my best friend's girl?!"

Trunks replied with, "No, of course not!" But Goten could see through his lies.

"It's more that…I just don't think it's good for a productive work environment!" Trunks told him, acting very managerial.

"Sure." He said sarcastically, folding his arms.

"Goten, we need to do our best to keep our personal relationships out of work, okay?" Trunks took off his glasses and talked like the serious business man he had become.

"Whatever you say… _boss_." With that, Goten stood up and left, hating the fact that he simply did not understand his best friend anymore, which was incredibly strange.

 _'How can you not understand someone you've known since birth?!_ ' Goten dwelled on what Trunks had said.

 _'Has he really changed **that** much?_' He couldn't be sure if it was the fact that he had a girlfriend, or if it was being a CEO that had changed his friend, but Goten decided to continue to work hard for the rest of the day, to take his mind off of it.

Goten didn't stop to have a conversation with Noudelle during the rest of his break, yet he didn't really blame her, or himself. For the rest of the day, he worked at an incredible rate, thanking his Saiyan strength for that. It was weird to think about being half-alien, but it was kinda cool to him.

Within a few hours, he had done everything on the schedule. The schedules and regulations were very strict, so much, in fact; that it was reminiscent of school, a place Goten hated for the majority of his time there. Since he had nothing more to do, and he couldn't be bothered to help his fellow employees, Goten made the decision to walk around the building.

 _'Maybe I'll find their latest top-secret invention!'_ He thought, as he snuck into one of the testing labs. He flicked on a light switch in the vast room, which had no one inside. There was a gigantic machine in the centre of the room. Scanning the whole room for any blueprints or clues to what it was, he found nothing, and so, after checking there was no one outside, he grabbed the end of the cloth covering it, ready to pull it off to reveal what it was, the curiosity building inside him too much to ignore...


	3. Two Worlds Collide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tysm for reading so far! If you get tired of waiting for me to upload the next chapter, then you can continue reading on fanfiction.net. Feel free to leave kudos or comments if you're enjoying so far ♡

His hands tightly gripped the edge of the cloth. He hesitated to yank it off at first, somewhat afraid, but eventually got past the things running through his own wild imagination. With one swift pull, the cloth came off, with a puff of dust. After choking on said dust, Goten inspected his findings.

Beneath the veil of the white cloth, was a ship. The hull was in a large circular shape, with concave windows. The base was held up by various claw-like feet, which Goten figured would be used during launching the ship and landing it. The Capsule Corp logo stood out like always, and it was most definitely an impressive piece of machinery.

A question then entered his mind: _Why?_

_Why would they need this?_

Goten wondered if it was perhaps for gathering materials from space, or for scientific research. Goten was sure that Trunks had something to do with it, the colours of the ship, and what he could see of the interior from outside seemed like something Trunks would design. It was something well within his abilities, his family had made things to do with space before, like the ship his father took to Namek.

Gohan had told him and Trunks all about the space expedition: the tense battles, how his father snapped after Krillin's death and how ugly, yet utterly terrifying Frieza was. Goten wished he could have been part of it. Though he was glad to live in times of peace for the majority of his life, he did sometimes wish that life was more fun and often wondered about how cool and heroic it must have been.

However, Goten had no time to dwell on such a thing now.

He had been gone longer than he thought due to getting a little lost around the building, and he had also spent much more time marvelling at the ship than planned, and people were beginning to look for him.

He threw the cloth back on the ship, and left the room exactly as it was earlier, then tried to sneak to where was working before. But, on his way back he encountered Noudelle; who gave him a scare, just as she had done that morning.

"Sorry! I'll try to stop doing that!" She giggled after almost giving Goten a heart attack.

"Please do…" He sighed, then she asked him a question, catching him off-guard yet again.

"What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in the factory building?"

Goten didn't have much time to come up with a decent answer, so he replied back, hastily.

"…I could ask the same about you! Don't secretaries usually stay at their desks all day?"

He scratched the back of his head and avoided looking directly into her onyx eyes.

"Well…ok, fair enough…but, you need to go back into to do your daily report, then you can go home." Goten followed her back inside and filled in the sheet. She then took his, and added it to the pile she held in her hands. Noudelle didn't even organise them; leading Goten to slightly doubt her effectiveness as a secretary.

Once Goten was ready to leave, he realised he had two options: Ask Noudelle about the spaceship…. Or, do his _own_ research. Goten decided the latter would be best, but some small spark lit in his mind as he walked by her; the way she smiled sweetly as she waved goodbye, and her dull, black eyes; which held some sort of unconventional beauty in how plain they were, and somehow, this made him feel compelled to tell the truth about what he was doing earlier.

"Hey…Noudelle? Can we talk?" Goten had forgotten that she had told Trunks about their conversation earlier, and proceeded to divulge what little information he had about the ship to her, in a place where nobody could hear or see them.

"You're serious? A spaceship?!" Noudelle couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Yeah, I'll show you if you don't believe me!" Goten stated, and she reluctantly followed him into the room where he had found the ship. Taking off the cloth again, it was Noudelle's turn to be in awe.

"Wow…it's so cool!" She felt the outside of it, the cool, her fingerprints making shadows on the reflective metal as she peered inside.

"I've always wanted to go to space…it's just so fascinating, you know?" She grinned, and Goten nodded.

BEEP!

The door of the ship opened after Noudelle pressed something. "Hey, Goten check it out! It's even cooler from inside!" She climbed in despite Goten's warnings.Noudelle brushed them off, saying no one was around, and dragged him inside the spaceship, which felt much bigger once they were in it.

Noudelle sat down in a comfy chair in the cockpit, swivelling around, laughing.

"I do this on my office chair when no-one's around!"

Lifting up her legs and spinning on the chair, she seemed to be having the time of her life, just the thought of piloting a ship through the cosmos brought joy to her; the happiness clearly infectious since Goten too was cracking jokes and playing around.

However, Noudelle, after becoming insanely dizzy from spinning on the chair, came to rest her legs on the control panel, accidentally starting the ship up, and they couldn't find a way to stop it, but she hardly seemed bothered. In fact, she seemed even more excited.

"Noudelle make it stop!" Goten yelled as his body was thrown off the chair from the lurching of the ship's fast movement. Noudelle was strapped in and ready for a space adventure, it seemed.

"Oh, relax and put your seatbelt on! The roof opens using a sensor!" Goten rapidly did so, just before the ship launched them high up into the air, the sensor was able to react, and soon they had passed the stratosphere. Noudelle whooped, but Goten was feeling rather queasy, partly from how quickly they had been thrust into the air, which made his stomach do backflips, but also due to the fact that they had no idea how to get back onto solid ground, and being stranded in space was not on Goten's to-do list.

"Woah! The Earth looks tiny from up here!" Noudelle exclaimed, as she stared out of the front window, taking notice of everything in the beautiful vacuum of space.

"Don't you just love it, Goten?" She turned to him and her eyes were now alight, shining like stars and Goten thought he could see the galaxy reflected in their darkness. He didn't know what to say to that but she didn't care, instead she got out of her seat before Goten could warn her.

"C'mon, Goten, it's fun being so floaty!" She held onto his seat, her legs floating upwards. Goten allowed himself to be coerced into taking off his seatbelt too. The sensation of floating was always fun, he knew that from being able to fly already, but there was something even more special about that experience then.

Dancing around weightlessly, Goten forgot all of his worries; a certain freedom came from it. Noudelle seemed in her element, the prospect of not being able to go home didn't trouble her at all. Her raven hair that blended into a shade of blood red and her locks of hair that were usually straight but not very neat, that would fall just past her shoulders on Earth, floated slowly behind her, allowing Goten to see her earrings; star-shaped gemstones glittering in the light.

A button entered Goten's field of vision, distracting him from the beautiful view in front of him. Pressing it would make the gravity within the ship become like Earth's, and though all common sense was screaming at him to press it so that it would be easier for him to find a way back to Earth, seeing Noudelle spinning around slowly like a ballerina in a musical box, so ethereal yet so real, more real than any girl he had ever been with before; he decided to forget about the button for now.

Noudelle grabbed him by the hand and pulled him close, nervously chuckling.

"I'm going to tell you something really stupid, but don't think any less of me, okay?" Goten blinked in utter puzzlement, and then she sighed.

"I guess I'm so hyper that I'm actually admitting this..." She stared out of the window behind him, but he moved so that he could stare of those eyes of hers that put him in a trance as she continued, "When I was 14...I had a crush on this guy...so I wrote him a poem and...because I'm obsessed with space..." She awkwardly laughed and pushed a strand of hair that had floated in front of her face away, "Yeah...I wrote him a love poem to do with space, don't cringe!"

Goten, again, was speechless. He found it more interesting than cringeworthy, and his fascination grew when he heard her tell him that she never gave it to him, and still has it saved on her phone.

"Maybe… you could read it? I mean… we're in an ideal place, and if it's good, well, it's better than never that you remembered…and, you could give it to Trunks!" Goten suggested, wanting to hear her poem. She reluctantly agreed, clearing her throat and pulling up the picture on her phone to read the words she was always too afraid to say.

"Ok… don't judge my writing abilities, I was only 14!" She told him, delaying the inevitable. Noudelle took a deep breath and began, for real this time,

"We've always been two worlds apart.

How I long to be in your orbit, it draws me in,

a strong magnetic field, we've been so close yet so far.

I wouldn't mind if our planets collided, a beautiful explosion that would surely make,

A sound ringing in the ears of all, or perhaps

A new nebula, maybe a rift between space and time,

For all to witness, for them to envy.

The night sky is filled with bright stars, shining,

Bringing hope in the darkness.

You are the brightest of all to me, your presence in the cosmos that is my life means more than the Sun to the Earth.

Fate caused you to crash into my life,

A shooting star that aimed for my heart;

I want our love to be everlasting,

Unlike the stars, which burn out,

We could be eternal.

And now, like a astronomer,

Though with one question, not many, I ask,

Would you like to go to the dance with me, and allow these two worlds to collide, finally?"

 _'Well that sure was an invitation to a school dance.'_ He thought, but didn't want to say that. Noudelle had told him something that she hadn't even told Trunks, and it clearly meant a lot to her.

"Wow! That's way better than I could have done!" He praised her, and she blushed, asking, "Well… how would _you_ have written a sonnet?"

With some hesitation, Goten finally spoke,

"Uh… Roses are red, Violets are blue, I was kinda hoping… I could go to the dance with you?"

Noudelle burst into laughter, and Goten defended his poem, saying he came up with it in 2 seconds.

"Wouldn't you have accepted it?" Goten asked, half-joking.

"Hmm… maybe. I always wondered if he would have accepted my invitation…" She looked distant, gazing out of the window but once again, Goten snapped her back into reality.

"Why didn't you give him the note?" He inquired. "Huh? Oh, uh…when I was just about to give it… he had already asked another girl." She laughed nervously again and sighed, "I don't know _what_ I was thinking… he was the most popular guy, and she was the most popular girl… and I'm-"

"A girl who is poetic, pretty and is dating the richest man in town?" Goten smirked, grabbing her hand and pulling her close. Noudelle didn't resist, and mentioned that she didn't think of that.

"I was gonna say the most handsome man in town, but then I remembered I'm here!" Goten joked, and she playfully hit him in the chest.

Pulling her close again, his arm around her waist, which unlike the basic hoes he was used to being with, was not almost non-existent. Gazing into her eyes, getting lost in them yet again, he told her, "But… I wasn't joking about the other part…"

The warmth of her body in the cool ship, so unbelievably close to him, caused the both of them to blush. After what felt like an eternity of awkward silence, but was only in fact a mere second, longing had taken over the both of them and without thinking, their faces drew closer, and just when their lips were about to press together; colliding, like the two planets in Noudelle's poem, a screen came down from the front of the ship, showing the face of Trunks who was livid, though not about the kiss they had almost shared. Noudelle pushed herself away from Goten and neither could look at each other, or directly at Trunks.

"What were you guys even doing in that lab?! And why would you start up a potentially unfinished spaceship?!" Trunks yelled at them, but soon calmed down and instructed them on how to land the ship back on the Capsule Corp grounds. They successfully did so, but did not escape Trunks' wrath.

Trunks gave the pair an earful, and revealed he had been working on the ship in secret, purposefully hiding the ship from Noudelle; who he had built it for as a surprise birthday present.

"Trunks… I'm flattered you would do all that for me, and I'm really sorry, I was the one who started it… Goten was just showing me, he didn't know, and neither did I!" Noudelle defended him, even though she didn't particularly seem too happy with Goten after what had transpired on the ship.

"It's ok, Trunks, we can still have a space adventure together! Plus… now Goten knows it's my birthday next Friday!" She put a positive spin on things, and Trunks, who was trying his best to be stern with them, just could not stay mad at his two closest companions; who he noticed had become good friends with each other… but had no clue about what happened on the ship.

Guilt consumed both Goten and Noudelle. Neither of them could even fully believe that they had almost kissed, just like that. Once they left Trunks' office, Noudelle took Goten aside, to the same spot as earlier and some part of Goten was secretly hoping that she'd finish what they started in space, but she, of course... didn't. Folding her arms, and giving him a harsh glare she advised Goten to never speak of what happened, and that what occurred was merely a result of how hyper they were, the lack of gravity had gotten to their brains, she'd said, almost as if trying to convince herself as well. Goten nodded, knowing it would be the right thing to do. He was about to leave, and just forget about it all, but as he sped off into the distance, the imperfect words of Noudelle's poem simply would not leave his head.

 _'Ugh! I need to forget about her!'_ His mind was sent racing from it all, so he decided to make a detour to the Lookout, where Piccolo resided, hoping the wise Namekian could offer him some sort of help.

"It's been a long time, Goten. You haven't trained for a while… don't tell me you're becoming like your brother." Piccolo said, as he got up from his meditative pose.

Goten didn't really know what to say, Piccolo wasn't the best at offering advice to do with regular human things, but oftentimes, he was good with moral decisions and spirituality, and though he was incredibly strong; his thinking made him more powerful. It was hard for Goten to believe that this man once had a strong desire to kill his father, and how his bond with Gohan had changed the both of them for the better. "I… just needed to clear my head."

Goten sighed, and Piccolo taunted him, "Those idiotic girls you date just aren't doing it for you?" Goten rolled his eyes and stated that he was seeking a way to get rid of his feelings for someone, but he wasn't even sure what the feeling was.

"Not something I expected from someone like you… but sure, I'll help… anything to make you stronger, maybe that will encourage Trunks and Gohan to train." Piccolo agreed to help, and instructed Goten to start meditating with him.

Sitting cross-legged on the cool square tiles of the lookout, Goten did his best to focus only on his breathing, visualising waves rushing in and out on the shore, yet his mind was elsewhere. No matter how much he attempted to bring his mind back to his breathing, the thoughts in his head kept coming back to Noudelle and the moment they shared on the ship, and Piccolo could sense Goten's inability to focus.

"What's wrong, Goten? I know you've never been the best at focusing… but something's up, isn't it?" Piccolo had pretty much figured out what was going on, but Goten remained stubborn, determined to rid his mind of all distractions. He told Piccolo it was nothing, but after a few minutes of being unsuccessful in his meditation, Piccolo told him to stop.

"Out with it, Goten. Whatever stupid thing is bothering you… just say it." Piccolo lent an ear to the troubled half-Saiyan, who decided to just get things off his chest; besides, it wasn't like he could talk to Trunks about it.

"So… there's this girl…" Goten began, and Piccolo chimed in with, "Oh, of course."

Disregarding the comment, Goten continued, "Well, we haven't known each other for long… in fact, I only met her at work-"

Piccolo cut off Goten again, who was nervously fiddling with his hands as he spoke, which Piccolo found incredibly pitiful.

"I will never quite understand the concept of love… but I'd go with what your gut says… or your heart, if you think that makes any difference." Goten listened to what his brother's master had to say, but he wasn't quite understanding.

"Well… does she make you…happy? Like how Videl makes Gohan happy?" Piccolo inquired, and Goten informed him about the meal he had at their home and how Pan had acted; as well as how strange everyone was being.

"I… wouldn't dwell on it too much… that boy is much too nice to discipline his daughter properly, and he over-works himself, so does Trunks…" Piccolo thought for a moment, before coming back to the matter at hand.

"Why not just be with this girl? It isn't like you've not had a girlfriend, or whatever it's called, before." Piccolo still sensed that Goten was hiding something, and in what felt like a garbled blur of words, he revealed that she was Trunks' girlfriend.

Piccolo was rather astonished; he didn't know of Trunks' girlfriend, or of how to help Goten.

"Makes sense that you would want to meditate on it… but I would just try to focus on not getting fired, if I were you."

Goten nodded and decided there wasn't much there for him on the Lookout. Despite Dende telling him to stay for a while and catch up with him, that Mr Popo was just going to prepare tea, Goten just didn't feel in the mood to socialise, and so, he went home.

Following Chi-Chi's questions about his day and why he was late, though not in that order, Goten ate a fair amount, but the food felt strange on his tongue; the guilt from even considering he would do that to his best friend's lover made everything taste bland.

"Are you feeling alright, Goten?" Chi-Chi asked, slightly concerned for her son, who would usually eat at a fast pace, and pile up empty plates, just like her husband used to.

"Yeah… just a little tired." Goten wasn't technically lying; an unexpected trip to outer space would most likely take the energy out of anyone. After the meal, Goten went to his room and played one of his favourite games on his little GameStar handheld, which he had owned for years. Trunks had a special edition one, he recalled, and in school they would always hide behind the back of the building during break and play, hoping to not get caught, but then, they got older and Trunks had no time to play those games anymore.

After awhile, Goten became angry that his best friend was still prevalent in his mind, even as he tried to distract himself with a game that usually always comforted him. He gave up and decided to go to sleep, even though the sun hadn't really set in the sky yet, letting his thoughts drift away until he fell asleep.

* * *

Goten woke with a start, and then wished he hadn't woken up at all. It was still vivid and fresh in his mind, the dream he had:

It was a continuation of what could have happened on the ship… that kiss. Goten blushed thinking about what lewd activities his mind had thought up, and his guilt and shame seemed to multiply, lust was always the thing determined to break him, every time, in every relationship… he tended to make things move too quickly, eventually pushing people away.

He had to stop thinking about his dream and about Noudelle eventually, otherwise he would be late for work, and a part of him was dreading going there again and seeing Noudelle; who he doubted was completely over the events that had transpired.

Nonetheless, he went to work and, like before, got through many tasks much faster than all the others; believing that the menial labour would provide a great distraction. It was all going rather well… until, like last time, he was called to Trunks' office at the next scheduled break, which sent his heart racing.

 _'Shit, what if he knows?!'_ Goten began thinking of the worst possible scenario. _'Noudelle…wouldn't tell, would she? Fuck… what if that ship had cameras and microphones, and he was secretly **watching**?!' _

He took a deep breath and opened the door to the office, then was invited to take a seat.

 _'Just…act normal, Goten.'_ He reminded himself. Trunks seemed to be in a good mood, nothing off about him either.

"Ok, so, since you've ruined my surprise for 'Delle, you're helping me plan her party." Trunks informed him, and Goten stared in disbelief.

"You want me… to plan a birthday party by next Friday, for a girl I hardly know?" Goten raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it seemed to me like you get along, it's like you've been friends for ages, which is really cool! And, I can't do it alone, you're the fun one now, right?"

Goten had to agree to do it, for the both of them.

"But… All I really know that she likes space! And, the only party I ever planned was that one in high school!" Goten had some awful flashbacks just _thinking_ about that party, and so did Trunks.

"Yeah… _please_ don't make it like that one." He laughed, adjusting his glasses, and simply told Goten that he can just spend some more time with Noudelle during breaks to get to know her, and that she was coming to dinner with Trunks' family tomorrow night.

"You should definitely come! My grandma has a whole menu planned!"

Goten was wishing he didn't make things awkward between him and Noudelle, otherwise this would be an offer he wouldn't think twice about taking. However, he still had to take it, for the sake of politeness and wanting to give Noudelle a fantastic party, one that would surely fix things between them.

"…sure." Goten answered at last.

"Great! See ya later, Goten!"

Goten said goodbye in response and left, feeling a little used by his friend, which wouldn't be the first time.

Regardless, he continued working until the next break he had, and walked up to Noudelle's desk, where she was on the phone with a client. Upon seeing Goten she put the call on hold and asked,

"Did Trunks tell you to plan my party?"

Goten, confused, asked her how she knew, and she revealed that she had been eavesdropping from outside.

"Oh… well, yeah… so, I guess we'll be spending some time together." Goten smiled and reached for a biscuit on her desk. She snatched them away and laid out some ground rules, "Fine. But we're doing this for Trunks' sake, ok? Just so you know, I'm not too bothered about the party, but I guess I'll tell you the kinda colour scheme I want and stuff. Also, we should forget what happened, for the better, and if you make another move on me, I **will** tell Trunks."

 _'Like he'll even believe you.'_ Goten thought to himself, but still paid attention and acted normal; though he was annoyed that she thought he had made a move on her. She too, was leaning in for that kiss, and if she didn't want it to happen, she could have just said something.

Noudelle extended her hand and asked, "Deal?"

They shook on it, happily, and put those feelings behind them.

"Wait… there's just one more thing!" Goten exclaimed. "Huh?" "Can I have a cookie now? _Pretty please_?" He begged, and she agreed, taking one too, the both of them believing that their feelings for each other had passed, which they would soon find to be untrue…


	4. Grape Soda, Cookies and Romance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Again, sorry for the wait between chapter 2 and 3, I was having some...technical issues. I shall try to be more frequent!  
> This chapter is one of my favourite ones, so please enjoy ♡

"Let's just get this over with so you can tell Trunks what you're doing for the party, ok?" Noudelle sighed. It was Monday morning, and with the party being on Friday, Goten and Noudelle decided to finally plan the party.

"Cool… just as long as your acting is good enough to convince Trunks that you're actually _surprised_ by it."

Noudelle initially wanted it to be settled over the weekend, so that he could get all the decorations earlier, or at least that's what she _told_ him. In reality, she was just trying to avoid Goten as best as she could; hoping to forget what had occurred a few days ago.

"My favourite colours are purple, turquoise, black and red, so I guess you could make a colour scheme with that." She revealed, as Goten made a note of it on his phone.

"You want a space theme, right?" He asked, and she replied, "I don't care if it is or not, just do whatever looks decent. If you're unsure of something, go ask Trunks, 'kay? I'm kinda busy now, so-"

Goten was frustrated by her lack of cooperation with him, and asked why she was being like this with him.

"Like _what_?" She retorted; her comment loaded with a heavy dose of attitude.

"Like… you don't like me?" Goten responded, and she sighed heavily, "I don't _dislike_ you, Goten. But I am kinda stressed right now… and did you _really_ think everything would just go back to normal so quickly? How do you expect it to not be awkward between us?!"

Goten couldn't answer.

"Look, maybe it's easier for you to get over…I'm sure you've had plenty of girls before… but for me, it isn't because I feel so fucking guilty! And maybe you should, too..." Noudelle turned away from him.

"You think I **don't** feel like that?!" He exclaimed, shocked that she would perceive him to be so shallow and that much of a fuckboy.

"Noudelle… It's shameful to admit… but, I… just can't get rid of my feelings for you." Goten said meekly and hung his head as she turned back to him.

"Yeah… I'm pretty pathetic… falling for a girl I've known for like a week… but you're so-"

"Shut up." Noudelle cut him off. "I have an idea."

"For the party?" Goten asked, with an embarrassing amount of stupidity.

"No… an idea on how to get you to stop liking me like that! I'll tell you about how I met Trunks, so you'll feel super guilty about liking the girlfriend of your _best friend_." She put a lot of emphasis on the words 'best friend,' and already Goten was struck with a pang of guilt. However, just as she was about to begin, a bell rang, signifying the end of their break.

"I'll tell you later… at lunch." She said, and walked away.

* * *

  
Goten mulled over what had been said to him while he worked. He knew Noudelle was right.

 _'I wonder…how did they meet? Trunks never said anything.'_ Goten thought of all the possible romantic ways a person could meet in an office setting, eventually getting a little distracted. Luckily, he was snapped back to reality by another worker, the same girl who had admired the way he looked in his uniform the other day.

Goten had become quite good friends with this girl, she being the most talkative employee in the factory, and also the assistant manager, which was a position the actual manager only rewarded her with to shut her up. Though quite annoying, she was the only person Goten had to talk to in the factory, and her scarily optimistic personality provided a good distraction from Noudelle.

"You off daydreaming again, Goten?" She asked, grinning as always.

"Sorry, Naife! It won't happen again!" Goten apologised, but she cheekily replied, " _Suuuree!_ I bet you'll be off thinking about some girl as soon as I leave!"

Goten laughed as he continued loading the parts on the conveyor belt, allowing the robotic hands from above to take care of assembling the rest.

"Oh, I bet you've had loads of girls before, haven't ya?" She teased, and Goten thought about his many past girlfriends.

There was Paris, who he was with the longest. Goten believed that they would have had such a bright future together, like his brother and Videl did, though looking back now, he was just ensnared by her appearance, and she was rather taken by his. Though his family and friends supported the relationship, most could tell that it wasn't really going to go anywhere, but decided to let Goten have his fun. Eventually, they realised they didn't have much in common, and things became boring, so they broke up.

Goten did have a few silly little flings throughout his school days, but he could hardly even remember the names of those girls now, only the one he lost his virginity to in 10th grade. Her name was Soye, he recalled. They were the most popular couple, but it soon became apparent, through the help of Trunks, that she was cheating on him with another guy. From that point on, Goten promised himself not to date another slut like that again.

Unfortunately, that promise would soon be broken.

"Goten?" Naife asked, bringing him back out of his memories again.

"Hm? Wha-" He shook his head and snapped out of it.

"See what I mean?" She smiled, and he nervously chuckled.

"Well… I don't know about you, but I hope I'm not single for _too_ long! Gosh… Noudelle is so lucky! She's dating the richest, most handsome bachelor on the planet!" Naife blushed, clearly in a world of her own, which made her seem like quite the hypocrite, seeing as she just told Goten to stop getting lost in his thoughts.

"I hope the both of us find somebody before there's no hotties left!" She exclaimed, then left in high spirits, having to go take care of something else, as usual.

* * *

  
"…'sup!" Goten said, as he came over from down the hall to Noudelle's desk, which was in quite a state, as she found him slurping away on a can of fizzy grape juice.

"Grape soda? Really? What is this, grade school?" She scoffed, and Goten defended his choice of beverage with, "Well… if it's so childish, why do they sell it in the vending machine?" He said wryly as he leaned against the wall; feeling pleased by his intelligent quip.

"Hmph… fair enough. Though, I prefer lemonade. Trunks likes sparkling water for some stupid reason, even though it tastes-"

"Like static?" Goten interrupted, and Noudelle raised an eyebrow, "Uh, I was gonna say 'nasty', but that's a pretty good comparison." Goten took another sip of his drink and picked up a biscuit from Noudelle's desk.

She began telling her story, "Ok, so I was hired here last year, and I was just an intern. Running odd jobs, delivering messages, occasionally crunching numbers, you know?"

"Why did you wanna work here?" Goten asked, his mouth half full with biscuits.

"Well… for the same reason you did, I guess. I needed some easy money; I had just moved from the North District, and Gingertown had hardly any job openings, and... I guess I've always romanticized the idea of moving to a big city… especially since I lived in such a small town." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and smiled. Goten gestured for her to continue as he drank the remainder of juice in the can.

"When I started here… I wondered why the other girls here were so obsessed with Trunks. I had no idea about what he looked like, only that he was rich and handsome, and our boss, but I wasn't too interested in him at that point. Besides, I never expected to end up with him… jeez… it's like some cheesy romance movie: the quiet, new small-town girl lands the most amazing guy ever!" She blushed, getting distracted, and cleared her throat, and resumed her story, after remembering what she was supposed to be talking about.

"One day I was working late... and I went down to the break room to get a snack from the vending machine. There was another guy there… it was Trunks but I had _no_ clue-" Goten cut her off as he took another biscuit, making the packet rustle loudly.

"Sorry…" He whispered.

"Anyway," she started up again, "I didn't treat him any differently, because I didn't know, and he asked what I knew about the company's boss. Like an idiot, I said that all I know was that he was some loaded hottie that all the girls fall for, and that I believed he was most likely a jerk and a player, who used his fame and fortune to his advantage."

"You said that to him?!" Goten's jaw dropped and his eyes stayed fixed on her as she nodded, even as his hand reached over for another one of those delicious biscuits.

"Yeah… he still teases me about it sometimes! Anyway, he was like…'Is that so?', and there was a magazine on the desk, which had him on it, so he sat down on one of the chairs and opened it up and I saw the picture of him on it and I gasped! I almost dropped my bag of chips; I was just so in disbelief!" She laughed, and Goten; now incredibly enthralled with her story, leaned in closer, and asked what happened next.

"Well… my face was bright red, and I was sure he was gonna fire me, so I begged him not to… and he said, 'Since you think I'm a jerk… I'll prove that I'm not!', and he said he wasn't going to fire me, and I thanked him, of course! Oh, yeah, then he joked that the only thing I was right about was how he was rich and hot, but he wasn't being boastful, or anything, he seemed kinda annoyed by it. He told me that even though all the girls in town love him, that he never loved any of them because they were all so superficial… plus, it's a little annoying when everyone knows everything about you, I guess..."

"So… when did you start dating?" Goten chimed in.

"Not yet! Be patient, ok? I'll get to that!" She cleared her throat and went on, "Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, so then he asked me about my name because he figured I was new, by my accent and because I didn't know much about him. So, I told him, and he was like, 'Oh, I've heard you're a good new employee! And because I am NOT a jerk…I'll promote you!', and I was totally shocked, but he was serious! I guess… he must have liked me from the start… anyway, soon after, I began to carry out small tasks for him: delivering messages around the building, taking phone calls, bringing him files… so, yeah, I kinda became his assistant."

Goten cheekily asked her, "So, when did he bend you over his desk~?" He found joy in seeing her face turn red.

"Shut up! Does everything need to contain sex for it to be interesting for you?!" She growled, making Goten smirk.

"Hmmm…not all the time, I-"

"Shut it!" She commanded him. "…and stop eating all my cookies!" Noudelle snatched the packet away from him, and he pouted.

"One day, I came in with some files, and because I'm a fucking klutz I tripped because I wasn't used to the heels I bought for some stupid reason with my pay raise! God… you should have seen the way he rushed over to help me… we were picking up all the files, and we were reaching for the same one without realising, and… I know it sounds silly, but when our hands touched… I just felt a connection, like… a **real** connection, you know? And then I realised… he had been keeping me close, prioritising me above the other workers, the women who were always trying to get with him, because he liked me, he wanted to get to know who I was." Noudelle didn't even realise that a goofy smile had spread across her face, but Goten did, just as he noticed nearly everything she did; all those little quirks and the way she moved her hands as she talked; how could he ignore it?

"Me! Of all people, he liked _me_! The girl who waltzed in from nowhere, and didn't comply with the dress code…" She flicked her hair behind her shoulder, the crimson parts catching Goten's eye, as did the earrings.

"I moved here trying to find what I had been searching for all my life… to have a purpose, to be A _Somebody_!" She glanced out of the window for a moment, where the noise of the city filled the silence that had been left when she stopped talking, her words brightening Goten's day, though she was unaware.

"Looks like you found love instead! Which… I guess, is better?" Goten wondered aloud. Noudelle turned back from the window and casually said that she supposed being the girlfriend of a rich, attractive CEO was better than being a 'somebody'.

"Trunks always makes me feel like I'm a Someone… I can believe it when he says it…" She snapped out of her sentimentality upon seeing the clock. She knew she had to finish her story quickly, before Goten had to go back to the factory.

"Uh, getting back to my story… I remember he was kinda nervous, which was unusual… so I asked what was up, and he said he liked me, and I was like 'you're kidding, right?', but he said he was dead serious, and I admitted that I had begun to like him too, so he asked if I wanted to date him, and so we did. We kept things quiet at first, but eventually it became the talk of the town, which bothered me a lot less than I expected it to. I guess I always wondered what it was like for celebrity couples… and it has its ups and downs, like… sometimes, the girls give me dirty looks at work, and… people from the media interview me, and it’s kinda annoying… but I don't mind… I love Trunks with all my heart!"

Goten told her he was happy for her, and Trunks, but he felt somewhat bitter knowing that she only wanted him. It was like that moment they shared on the ship didn't even matter, Goten believed he was just kidding himself the whole time; he really thought he could land a gorgeous, loyal girl like that, whilst he was way out of her league?

He had always been inferior, what was he thinking?

It had been so, from the moment he was born, it was like a curse, that he looked just like his father, who was absent for a lot of his life; Goten had to try to be like him, to be worthy of being his son.

His brother had already proved his worth in the Cell Games, which was unfair, since Goten had never gotten the chance to do something so incredible. Sure, when Buu was causing trouble, he fought him, but that was when he was fused with Trunks, who was the better fighter. Trunks was a year older, so it made sense that he was stronger, and his tactics were clever too. It had been years since they had to fuse together, but it didn’t bother Goten anymore, who blankly stared at the floor and sighed.

"Goten?" Noudelle made him forget his worries.

"Sorry… I keep getting lost in thought…" He played it off, just as he did to Naife earlier.

"It's ok… you should be going now; lunch is nearly over." She suggested, causing him to turn, ready to leave.

"Wait!" She stopped him. "I… actually had fun talking to you today… I, uh, don't have many friends here… so I'm glad we're friends. And **just** friends."

Goten smiled at her, not saying anything, and left, still feeling confused and conflicted.

Why did he need to know about her and Trunks, anyway? Sure, he was slightly curious, but he should have known it would have made him feel like this, so why did he allow her to continue?

"Hi, Goten!" Naife sang, coming up to him as he re-entered the factory. "Where were you?" She inquired. Goten thought it would be rude not to answer, besides she was so nice to him that he couldn't push her away, no matter how bothersome she often was.

"Me? Oh, I was having lunch with Noudelle." He fixed up his uniform and she sighed; something Goten had never seen her do.

"What's up?" He raised an eyebrow.

"God, she's so lucky…" Naife folded her arms, and spoke with a hint of malice, which was startling, seeing as her demeanor normally was far from the way she was acting now.

"She just comes out of nowhere, and _steals_ him! Goten, I've worked at this company for years, slaving away in this factory, doing anything I could do to be noticed! I've never gotten a single raise, and hardly any employee of the month awards!" Goten was dumbfounded as he watched her have a breakdown; catching glimpses of what was behind her mask of optimism.

"I guess I'm just stupid for believing someone like that cares about a dime a dozen kinda girl… but… it's fine." She sighed, wiping a tear from her eye. "I'll keep working hard as always… and so should you. There'll be someone out there for the both of us, I'm sure of it!" Naife went back to her joyous ways, a bright hopeful smile plastered on her now reddened face.

Goten wasn't sure of what to say or how to react, so continued working as he had done for the rest of the day, until at last it was time to go home.

* * *

Grabbing a pencil and piece of paper from a broken drawer in his room, (the paper itself slightly yellowed from age), Goten threw himself on his bed. Using a book to put the paper on, he wrote down some ideas for Noudelle's party. Trunks told him they were going to have it in the grand courtyard of his mansion, a place Goten was familiar with due to his history with the Briefs family.

He drew out the decorations, the tables, and of course, he had some ideas for food. He didn't know what kind of food she liked yet, so he mostly wrote down what he would want at his own birthday party; eventually forgetting who this party was for, but Goten came back to his senses soon.

"Goten? What are you writing?" His mother said, as she came into the room without knocking, to be her usual nosy self.

"Nothing, mom." He tended to say that when he was hiding something, or when he couldn't be bothered to tell her, because it would take too long.

"It doesn't look like nothing to me!" Chi-Chi snatched the paper out of his hands and giggled, "Aww! Is this a party for your imaginary girlfriend?" She cackled at her own joke.

"Haha. Very funny mom." Goten took the piece of paper back and informed her of what was going on.

"I didn't know Trunks had a girlfriend! Well, it _does_ make sense, he's always been such a handsome boy! And mega-rich-" She was beginning to really get on Goten's nerves now, so he said dismissively, "Mhm, yes, I know, mom, but could you _please_ let me finish this now?"

"Ok, but… I'm invited to this party, right?!" She glared directly into his soul. "I deserve it, after all I've been through! Oh, and make sure Pan is there too!" She went on, listing what it should be like, as if it was her party and Goten had to stop her by pretending to agree.

"Thanks mom… I'll make sure to invite all of 'em, bye!" Goten got up, and escorted his mother out while she was still blabbering on, making sure to close and lock the door, which made her evidently mad from her banging on the door, and scolding him.

 _'Nothing a little music can't fix!'_ He put on his headphones, turning the volume up, and was set on throwing Noudelle the best party, ever.

It was the least he could do for her. Someone who had made his best friend so happy. Someone who made his day a bit brighter.

Someone he knew he couldn't have, no matter how much he wanted her.

* * *

"So, how 'bout it, Piccolo?" Goten handed him the party invitation.

Sure he hadn't quite gotten the party ready yet, Trunks was beginning to doubt his friend's organisational skills, but that was his own fault for choosing Goten, and he knew where to buy everything. Trunks had given Goten his own personal credit card, which was gold and obviously held billions of zeni, but he trusted Goten with everything.

"I… think I'll pass." Piccolo answered. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't really think it's my scene."

"Aw, really? C'mon, even Gohan is coming, you two haven't talked in ages!" Goten persuaded the Namekian, who at last said he would consider it.

"All right! I hope to see you there!" With that, he left, zooming off to his next location: Gohan's house.

DING-DONG!

The doorbell chimed as Goten pressed the buzzer, whilst adjusting his bag of invitations.

The door swung open, and Pan opened the door, sighing, "What do you want?"

 _'This rude little brat doesn't even **deserve** to go to this party… but, I guess I still have to invite her…'_ Goten acted like he didn't hear her nasty tone and smiled, "Hi, Pan! I'm inviting people to Noudelle's birthday party, I've got invites for you and your parents!" Goten reached into his bag and pulled out the right ones, and handed it over to Pan, who mentioned she hadn't met Noudelle before.

"She's the one going out with Trunks, right?" Goten nodded and Pan asked who was planning the party.

"I hope it isn't you, otherwise it'll be awful, just like that high school party." She smirked, knowing she had successfully gotten on his nerves.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, then stopped mid-sentence, his suspicion raised, "How did you know about that?"

"Trust me Goten… I know _everything_ …" She grinned creepily as she shut the door, leaving Goten a little freaked out.

 _'Strange kid…'_ He thought to himself as he took off again, checking his list of people to invite.

* * *

  
Landing back at Capsule Corp, Goten decided to tell Trunks about how many people accepted.

"I'm glad you convinced so many!" He praised his friend, as he lit his cigarette with a fancy lighter on the table. "I can't wait to see the look on 'Delle's face when she sees it, I hope she loves it!" Trunks got up and went to the open window, exhaling the cigarette smoke.

"I'm sure she will!" Goten agreed.

"Yeah, the only way to make her even happier than that, is to _propose_ to her or something…" Trunks laughed, and Goten asked if he was serious.

"Nah, I'm kidding… it's too early for that." Trunks drew on his cigarette again, and Goten felt somewhat relieved by that; as if he still had a chance with her.

"But… I'm convinced she's the one for me… I could see us having a bright future together, don't you?" Trunks turned to Goten, who agreed, even though his heart stung, yet he could not tell if that was from the guilt of knowing he had kissed her, or if it was the realization that he could not have her, that caused such pain.

"I guess this surprise party is also a way for people to get to know her… for me to show her off, in a way!" Trunks threw away his cigarette, which had by now fizzled out.

"She's so beautiful… she's perfect for me."

Goten had never seen Trunks so in love before.

Usually it was him falling for a girl, romanticizing her in such a dramatic way, so it was strange to have the roles reversed like this.

Goten went back to the factory, his break almost over, though Trunks did allow him to have the morning off to hand out the invitations. On his way there, he encountered Noudelle, who asked about the party.

"I'm wondering what to wear…" She went through a list of options, but Goten had to remind her that she isn't supposed to be expecting it.

"Oh, yeah… I guess I should practice my shocked face." She said, half-joking. "To make my reaction more realistic, I won't ask you any more about it, ok?”

With that, Noudelle said goodbye to Goten as he went off to work, the both of them unaware about the events that would soon transpire at the party; events that would change everything...


	5. A Party to Remember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! You've made it to my favourite chapter (this one gets good-)

At last, the day of the party had arrived. Everything had been set up that morning, with the help of the Capsule Corp robots Bulma was working on, who obediently carried out any task given.

"Thanks for the help, Bulma!" Goten said, and smiled. His vision was complete, somehow looking even better than expected.

"Oh, c'mon, you were planning the whole thing! It was the least I could do!" Bulma modestly refused the praise given to her, though she secretly did enjoy the recognition for her work. Clapping her hands, the robots followed her out, and Bulla entered, already dressed and with a face full of make-up, making her seem much older than she really was.

"There's no way you, of all people, planned all this!" She was taken aback at his work, the whole hall had been completely transformed; banners and balloons bringing colour, speakers playing music, and Goten's favourite part: the tables full of delicious food.

"Yeah…I'm surprised it's gone so well too…want me to plan your party next?" He joked, and Bulla looked up from her phone, then scoffed, "Beginner's luck. I could have done better…"

"Sure." He said, full of sarcasm, then he walked around the hall ensuring everything was perfect.

 _'I hope they love it!'_ He grinned to himself while he fixed his outfit up a little, remembering how his mother told him to look his best, in the case there were any pretty girls there...but the only pretty girl he really wanted was Noudelle.

That thought quickly vanished from his mind as soon as it came, guilt pushing it aside.

Once all the preparations were complete, it was time for all the guests to arrive. Slowly, more people came, and they were all made aware that when Noudelle and Trunks arrived, that they would have to be quiet, since this was a 'surprise' party, after all. Everyone seemed to like the decor, each of them shocked to find that Goten had come up with everything.

"Gosh, you really outdid yourself, Goten!" His brother praised him. Videl and Pan were off talking to Bulla, and Gohan whispered, "You wouldn't think that you were the one who hosted that awful party in high school!"

Goten asked how he knew, he thought that only him and Trunks knew about it, but now it felt like the entire town was aware.

"I'm your older brother, of course I know!" Gohan ruffled his hair like he used to when they were kids, and went off.

Goten fixed his hair back to the way it was and welcomed in more guests, some bringing presents for Noudelle. He was shocked to see that Piccolo had shown up, and was even wearing one of his father's old outfits that Chi-Chi had given him to fit in on Earth, though he typically just wore his normal Namekian clothes. He seemed rather nervous, but he soon became more comfortable in the company of Gohan, who was not expecting to see his former master. The two caught up, with Pan also joining the conversation. Goten decided to check his phone, knowing that Trunks would text him when they arrived.

Leaning against the wall, he looked around the room, now filled with guests and abuzz with chatter, Goten was sure that even though Noudelle knew it was coming, that she would most definitely appreciate his efforts. It was now 6pm, meaning that Trunks and Noudelle would be here any minute. The guests all fell silent as Goten told them he had received the text from Trunks. They heard the car pull up outside, and switched off the lights in the hall, everyone ready with party poppers in their hands to pull when the door was opened.

Goten could hear Trunks talking to her from outside as he stood near the door, waiting to see their faces. The party was honestly more of a surprise to Trunks, who had hardly been a part of planning it, than it was to Noudelle.

Trunks swung the door open and Goten rapidly switched on the lights as all the guests jumped up yelling "Surprise!". They pulled the string on the party poppers, streams of confetti and glitter flying into the air, some landing in people's hair. Noudelle was ecstatic. She hugged Trunks tightly and kissed him. She had to pretend like she had no clue about Goten's involvement, but when Trunks admitted that he helped, which was partly untrue, since Goten pretty much took care of everything, Noudelle hugged him thankfully, while giving him a little kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush.

Goten thought she was teasing him, but he couldn't be sure. Noudelle was introduced to almost everyone, Trunks eagerly showing her off, and what a sight she was to behold. She wore an elegant, yet modest red and black dress, with gold, shimmering jewelry, her star shaped earrings still on. Her hair was the same as always, though much neater, and she wore heels instead of those worn-out trainers she always had on at work. Her make-up was much more glamorous as well, though Goten preferred her with less on.

Goten listened in on Bulla and Noudelle's conversation, pretending he wasn't paying attention.

"Wow…you look so nice!" Bulla complimented her, and Noudelle of course thanked her, blushing a little.

"See, I told you if you made more of an effort you'd look better!" Bulla sipped some Cola from her drink while Noudelle awkwardly agreed and went off to find Trunks, who was across the room talking to Gohan and Piccolo, the girl obviously feeling a little alone.

 _'It's only fair for her to feel like that',_ Goten thought. Noudelle had hardly met anyone at this party, and her own family lived too far to make it, but she wasn't too bothered by the lack of her own friends and family members in the room, it seemed. As she walked, well, almost stumbled, towards Trunks, only managing a step or two, Goten came up towards her quickly, startling her to the point she nearly lost her balance.

"Sorry, I, uh, didn't mean to scare you." Goten apologised, and she nervously laughed, saying she was fine, "It's these heels…plus, I'm…a little overwhelmed!" She said, nearly having to yell in order to be heard above all the music and chatter in the hall.

"If I had a mega cool party thrown for me, I'd be pretty overwhelmed too!" Goten smirked, proud of himself, and took a fancy bite-sized snack from the table behind him. It was rather easy to find caterers for the party who did this much food for one event, which was a little surprising, but what was he expecting?

This was West City after all: _"Where your hopes and dreams can come true!"_

Luckily, Goten was close to the richest family in town, meaning this party, although highly expensive, which Noudelle did worry about, was worth less than a drop in the ocean that was the Briefs' fortune.

"Goodness, I feel like I'm Cinderella!" Noudelle giggled, looking around at the splendour of everything, a glass in her hand full of lemonade, which she sipped at, some of the red lipstick she wore smudged, but she fixed it as she talked about the birthdays in her hometown.

"Yeah…we obviously never had anything as big as this, just house parties. I always wanted my 16th to be amazing, you know? It was something I always dreamt of, but never really got…" She was off again, in her own mind, but Goten brought her back to reality by saying, "At least you have this one to remember."

His positive words made her smile, and she sighed, "I…do kinda wish my friends were here though…and…I bet my family would think I'm a gold digger, but I'd hope they'd like Trunks as much as I do…for more than his money."

Goten put his arm around her shoulder and downed a glass of champagne asking, "Well, I'm your friend, right?" to which she replied,

"Of course! Anyone this nice to me is classed as a friend, obviously!" Goten was about to ask her something else but Pan showed up, wearing a dress she was clearly uncomfortable in, and despised.

"Hi, Uncle Goten!" She chirped, acting all sweet and precious, going on to comment on Noudelle's hair and earrings.

"I wanted to dye my hair, but my mom said no…she's so _annoying_." Pan sneered, rolling her eyes and slurping at her can of cola, something that made Goten feel much more at ease, because whenever she was behaving well, something was definitely up.

"Uh, maybe when you're older you could do it? I remember my mother didn't want me to either…but I was a pretty rebellious teen!" Noudelle laughed, and Pan just said, "Really?"and seemed like she really could not care for what Noudelle had to say.

"Oh, Goten? Trunks wanted to speak to you, he's over there." Pan informed him, gesturing to the other side of the room, where Trunks was talking to Chi-Chi, and seemed rather uncomfortable in her presence.

Goten went over to him, leaving Noudelle behind, who was back to feeling uncomfortable without him there.

"Oh, hey, Goten!" Trunks exclaimed, visibly relieved to see him, since he had suffered listening to Chi-Chi go on about anything and everything for the past 5 minutes, which felt more like the incredibly long minutes on Namek when Frieza had tried to destroy it, or so he was told.

"Uh, hi Trunks…hi mom-" He was cut off by his mother, who looked surprisingly good for her age, though that may have just been the make-up.

"Goten, you have sauce on your jacket! And your hair is all messed up, I told you to use that hair gel!"

She fussed over him as if he was a little kid, licking her hands and smoothing his hair back, cleaning up the stain on his clothing. He protested, his face turning crimson, and Trunks stifled a laugh.

Goten's hair sprung back to the way it was, defiant as always, and his mother muttered, "Oh god, it's like your father all over again…" before putting on a fake smile and hugging Bulma. As their mothers walked off, complementing each other out of politeness rather than actual appreciation, Goten asked what Trunks wanted to say to him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I just wanted to thank you for helping me out, I was really stuck on what to do for her party…and even though you've known her for such a short time, I'm glad you've really captured her tastes! She absolutely loves it!" Trunks answered, and Goten said it was no problem, then asked why he didn't hire someone else or do it himself.

"I thought you would be able to give it more of a personal touch! Plus, I can really trust you around her, and I'm glad you're such good friends, honestly, it seems like everyone loves her, which is great!" Trunks' reply didn't fully answer his question, and Goten didn't have the heart to tell him about what had occurred on the ship, even though he was struck with guilt; nor could he tell him that Noudelle seemed quite uneasy around everybody, and that she wasn't really being accepted.

"Uh…well, it was the least I could do! And, uh, yeah…she's really having fun." He lied, and Trunks agreed, grabbing him and Goten some wine as he spoke; clearly deluded as he watched Noudelle trying to talk to some of the women in the family, all of them known to be passive aggressive, and sometimes downright rude.

"Aww, isn't she just _perfect_ , Goten?" His best friend was so in love to the fact that he didn't bother to think about anything but himself, though Goten could see he didn't intend to be so uncaring, it was just one of the many pitfalls of being head over heels in love with someone.

"I bought her the dress and the shoes just this morning! The jewelry I bought for our 3 month anniversary, and you should have seen the look on her face! Oh, she's so gorgeous…" There was a tinge of red on Trunks' cheeks and Goten could swear he saw tiny hearts in his eyes as he gazed at her beauty. Despite being a modest girl who mostly couldn't be bothered to dress up, she was honestly beautiful; not the most elegant for sure, yet not with the figure of a model, but still, Noudelle was something to behold.

Noudelle looked like she was beginning to adjust to the ways of the women here: the attitude of Bulla and Pan, the two very close in age but incredibly different in tastes, as well as Chi-Chi, Goten's mother who was incredibly blunt in speech and stubborn, and Bulma, who would most likely be Noudelle's future mother-in-law. Bulma seemed to be the nicest to Noudelle, from what Goten could tell anyway, making sure the girl was happy for the sake of her son, who she wanted the best for.

The party continued for a while longer, the guests all enjoying themselves by having conversations, eating and dancing.

 _'If Dad was here…all the food would be gone already.'_ Goten chuckled to himself whilst catching sight of the guests eating and recommending the different foods to each other. Yes, the day was going rather well, he thought; even Noudelle became happier as it went along…but then, Trunks called her up to the stage, and the guests and music fell silent.

Goten was sure he was seeing things, because there was no way that his best friend was down on one knee, holding a small, black box in his hand.

"Noudelle…I grew up with all I could ever want…money, fame, a loving family…but there was always something missing…that something is _you_ , my love." He gazed up into her shining black eyes. She was very much in shock as he took out a priceless looking diamond ring.

"Would you marry me, 'Delle? And be my **princess** forever~?"

Bulma had tears in her eyes as she hugged Vegeta whose stern features held a faint smile. Bulla was recording it on her phone, knowing it'd get her tons of likes on social media. Gohan and Videl also appeared to be very happy for the pair, and so did many others in the room...

And then there was Goten.

This was his best friend since birth, so why didn't he feel totally happy for him?

Was it because he was still single?

Was he jealous of Noudelle taking his friend away?

No, he didn't really feel like that. His mind kept searching for an answer to his discontentment, avoiding the one he didn't want to face:

That he was unhappy about Trunks' proposal because he still had feelings for Noudelle.

The crowd looked at Noudelle, imagining how beautiful she would look at her wedding, how adorable their children would be. It seemed to be a love story for the ages, like the ones she had grown up seeing on TV, but like Goten…she wasn't quite as happy about it as everyone else.

Trunks waited for her answer, as did the crowd, the room still filled with silence, and she opened her mouth, but no words came out. People waited for the moment she said yes, most with their phones recording it, the light from them illuminating the dim hall. Noudelle looked at the crowd, meeting Goten's eye, then immediately turned her face back to Trunks.

"I…" She finally found the strength to speak, "I-I'm sorry, Trunks, but I can't do this!"

Noudelle ran off stage, pushing open the door at the side and going through that exit. Trunks was too in shock to follow her and instead slowly got up, shoving the box with the ring back in his pocket and walked off stage, feeling like the world's biggest idiot.

"Honey-" His mom tried to comfort him but he said he was fine, taking a long sip of the alcoholic beverage in his glass. The rest of the guests went back into normality, though many were rather confused that Noudelle refused his proposal, and there were whispers about it echoing around the hall. No-one had gone to talk to Noudelle; they didn't know what to say to her, so they had just decided to give her space. Goten, on the other hand, thought that he should talk to her, so snuck out unnoticed, going through the main exit and walking around to the side of the building.

"Hey, 'Delle…" He said to her, startling her, yet again. She brushed off the tears from her cheeks, but the streaks in her make-up were still visible.

"…hey…" She responded, not looking directly at him.

"You…ok?" Goten asked, leaning against the wall like she was.

"Sure…If you find embarrassingly running out like that 'ok'." She awkwardly chuckled, and stopped another tear from falling.

"Can I ask…why you said no?" Goten inquired, trying to be as sensitive as he could. She took a deep breath and began, "I just feel like…he's moving things too fast! Like…we've not even known each other for half a year and he proposes? My family don't even know about him!" Noudelle admitted, and Goten inquired why she never told them, to which she answered, "Well…I just don't want them to get their hopes up…and, I'm worried about what they'd say!"

"You're worried they _wouldn't_ like the world's most rich and handsome bachelor?" He joked, making her smile a little.

"It's…complicated, ok?" She found it hard to explain her feelings on the matter, her voice breaking as she spoke her true feelings.

"I…feel like if I married him…that I couldn't be _myself_ anymore! It's like I have to keep up this act around everyone! I feel like I have to do it for him, for us…but I also feel like I have to act a certain way around him too…"

She revealed what was plaguing her mind and Goten asked her to give him an example of what she meant.

"This dress…and this necklace, and shoes…he bought them for me as a gift this morning. They're nice…but, I was gonna wear something more comfy, since I wasn't meant to be expecting this party, but he obviously wanted me to wear this, and everyone said they like the way I look…and…that means they wouldn't like the _real_ me…the girl who could wear the same jumper, torn leggings and trainers for 3 days straight!"

There was silence between them for a while as Goten took into consideration her thoughts and feelings. Goten finally spoke, "Hey, you know how you said you were like Cinderella earlier?" He smirked and she raised an eyebrow.

"Cinderella ran from the party…just like you!" He joked, trying to make her feel better.

"Yeah, except I doubt Cinderella wore shoes as uncomfortable as these heels!" She laughed, her happiness like music to Goten's ears.

"I mean…her shoes were made of glass, soooo..." The two of them chuckled, and Noudelle jokingly hit him in the arm.

"So…would you ever marry Trunks?" He asked, but instantly regretted it, feeling like it would upset her, but she plainly answered, "Yeah…if my father gave his blessing, of course! But…I feel like I need to know him for a bit longer...to be…more honest with him, you know?" Goten looked a little distressed at that, but she said she wouldn't tell him about that kiss, for both of their sakes.

"Ugh…I feel like such a party pooper…" Noudelle brushed everything aside and fixed her hair and make-up a little bit with what she had in the bag draped over her shoulder, a designer one Trunks had bought her, no doubt.

"Nah…don't feel like that. I agree, it was a bit stupid to ask you about marriage so soon…and you're brave for rejecting him in front of a crowd of people." Goten continued to cheer her up.

"Really?" She replied, her appearance much better now.

Noudelle sighed heavily, and mentioned that Trunks was also fairly brave for just getting up on stage and popping the question like that. They continued bantering, going back and forth and neither of them realised just how long they had been gone; stars were beginning to glow in the dark night sky, the faint shapes of clouds still hanging in the air, covering the moon, giving it a misty look. They tilted their heads up, the view reminding them of their day in the ship.

Goten broke the strong silence by asking about the ship.

"Yeah…Trunks is taking me…or, at least he was going to…I'm not so sure he'd want to, now… I wouldn't, if I were him." She looked back down at her tired feet, that she had squeezed into those uncomfortable heels.

"I wouldn't worry about him too much…he isn't the kinda guy to keep a grudge forever…especially for someone he really likes." Goten's words did reassure them, but then Noudelle mentioned her worries about how his family wouldn't like her anymore.

"Well…hardly anyone in that hall likes me…and…I'd always like you and respect your decisions."

"Thank you, Goten." She hugged him quite unexpectedly. He enjoyed the warmth of it, and they stood so close, even after she had let go, just like on the ship. Noudelle fiddled with her hands, something very clearly troubling her. Taking another deep breath, she stopped holding back her words,

"Goten…I've just realised something…and I don't know what to feel about it, so…please just…don't think I'm crazy!"

He promised to listen, taking her hand in his, her palms sweating even in the cold night, she was so full of nerves.

"Goten…you did this whole party amazingly for me…and you hardly even knew me…but it's like I can just…tell you anything, and everything and you'd listen! Maybe…that's why I told you about that poem, and about Trunks so easily, I'm never really good at opening up…as you can tell right now!" She gave one of her famous nervous giggles and went on, Goten's welcoming gaze making her feel comfortable enough to speak.

"And…you're the one out here caring for me…and…I don't even know what's going on inside my head anymore, I just-" She stopped mid-sentence and looked into Goten's eyes that were the same colour as her own. Noudelle, out of nowhere, kissed him deeply, causing him to blush, then put his arms around her. She softly moaned into the kiss as his tongue got to work, exploring her whole mouth, which still tasted faintly of the tangy lemonade. He definitely knew what he was doing and had secretly longed for this moment, forcing her against the wall, like in his dream. She didn't protest, not until he began to lick her neck, lightly biting where she was sensitive, and let out a moan that was louder than she thought. She covered her mouth and pushed him off her, apologising frantically, her face bright red like her shoes.

"W-we should go back inside…" She said, and acted once again like nothing had happened.

"…fine." He was a little upset he didn't get to finish what he had started, but went off; Noudelle had told him to give her a minute and for him to go ahead. Turning round the corner of the building, he saw Pan there, and his heart almost gave out, he was afraid of what she would do if she had been standing there the whole time.

"Pan? What are you doing-" He was cut off by the middle schooler, his niece was straight to the point, but was quiet for once so no-one could hear.

"What kinda best friend puts his tongue down their bestie's girl's throat?!" She slapped him across the face, something she had most likely learnt from Chi-Chi.

"Oww!!" He exclaimed, rubbing his face. Pan was about to go back indoors, a sly smile on her face, but Goten stopped her, grabbing her by the arm.

"Pan, _please_!" He begged. "I'll do anything…just don't tell anyone!"

" _Anything_?" Pan raised an eyebrow, smirking, and Goten really regretted those words.

"Well, not actually anything-" He tried to take back what he had said but Pan, still furious that her uncle would stoop to such a level, offered him the chance to tell Trunks what he did, otherwise she would.

Goten was backed into a corner but reminded himself that this was Pan, and that there was no way Trunks would ever believe her over him, his best friend. Sure, he did feel bad for kissing Noudelle after what happened, but Noudelle had kissed him first.

"Fine! Tell him!" Goten snapped, "As if he'll even _believe_ you!" Pan huffed and went inside and Goten sighed heavily, giving himself a moment to think, which was cut short by Noudelle who appeared behind him.

Again, she did not directly look at him, her cheeks were still somewhat red, but she seemed much happier than she was before. She went back inside, facing her fear, Goten said he would come in a moment too; he still needed a minute to calm himself down and gather his thoughts. As soon as he thought he was ready, Trunks came outside to talk to him. Goten gulped, but acted normal, so as not to raise his suspicion.

"Hey, Trunks!" He smiled, and went on asking if Noudelle was ok.

"Yeah…she just needed some space and…speaking of Noudelle," Goten knew what was coming. "I know I'm gonna sound crazy…and maybe it's ‘cause I've had a little too much wine today that I'm believing something that Pan said…but, Goten…did you kiss my girlfriend?"

He was faced with an accusation; the truth would most certainly destroy his friendship. Goten's mind was split, a part of him wanting to tell the truth about everything, but did he have the courage for such a thing? The easier option would make him feel terrible for the rest of his life, no doubt.

It seemed like no matter what he chose...the outcome would be disastrous…


	6. Life-Changing Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Did you enjoy the last chapter:))) sorry to keep you all waiting again!  
> ♡

"What?!" Goten exclaimed, acting shocked at Trunks' accusations.

"Trunks, c'mon, I would never do that!"

Goten lying like that sent what felt like a knife through his chest; how could he betray his best friend like this?

 _'What he doesn't know won't hurt him._ ' He justified his behaviour.

Trunks replied, "Thanks for telling me…I felt like I was going crazy, but I guess Pan was wrong about you, like always," The two friends smiled at each other amicably, and Goten believed he had gotten away with it.

"Turns out you aren't just someone who tries to steal their best friend's girlfriend, you're also a _**complete** fucking liar!"_ Trunks yelled, making Goten's heart sink.

"Trunks, I-" Goten tried to explain what happened but Trunks was having none of his excuses.

"Is the next thing you say going to be a lie too?!"

Goten didn't say what he was intending, knowing that it was indeed a lie.

"…how did she prove it?" Goten asked, not looking up at his friend who brought up a video on his phone of Goten kissing Noudelle. Pan had sent Trunks the video that she recorded secretly; meaning that he'd already seen the whole thing for himself.

"I'm really sorry, Trunks!" Goten apologised, coming to terms with the situation. "She came onto me!" He tried to shift the blame, but Trunks didn't believe a word, how could he trust him now?

"Yeah, right! Noudelle would never do that! Unlike you…she's loyal!" Goten realised that no matter what he said, Trunks would not understand. Like his father, Trunks was incredibly stubborn, and at that moment, somewhat intoxicated.

Goten could not tell him about Noudelle's true feelings, and of what they talked about just a few moments prior.

"Trunks, please, is there any way I can make this up to you?!" He begged forgiveness of his friend, who threatened, "If I ever catch you around my girlfriend again, Goten, I swear to Kami, I will fucking kill you!"

Goten implored, "Trunks, don't be like this! You're upset she refused your proposal, you've been drinking…just…c'mon man! I'll do anything!"

"Anything...?" Trunks smirked, and Goten suddenly realised he had dug himself into the same hole as before.

"Beat me in a fight and maybe I'll change my mind!" Trunks suggested, confident in his own abilities.

"Fight?! What, right now?!" Goten's jaw dropped. He couldn't really be serious about them having a proper battle.

"Not here…let's go to the place where our dads fought!" Trunks was adamant about this, and took off. Goten followed, even though he was worried about the outcome. Would he be able to beat him?

Goten was certain he had been keeping up with his training more, and had a glimmer of hope that he could best him, but he also knew how clever Trunks was on the battlefield, and how his anger would ultimately transfer into the blows he exchanged with his opponent. Goten attempted to persuade Trunks to turn back, that they could talk about it tomorrow, but Trunks didn't respond. He didn't deserve that type of attention.

Trunks finally landed on top of a tall stone pillar, already in his fighting stance. It was incredibly dark, but the glow of the moon and stars above were enough to allow Goten to see Trunks decently, as well as his surroundings. The wasteland had craters in some areas and places where the rocks had collapsed; almost like a time capsule, showing the aftermath of the tense battle that had occurred all those years ago.

Goten landed on a pillar that faced Trunks, also getting into a firm battle stance, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop this.

Heart thumping through the silence, the howling wind was the only thing louder than Goten's own thoughts.

'We don't even have senzu beans! I'm hoping it won't come to that point-' Goten had to stop being lost in thought, and quickly reacted to Trunks launching at him, already in his Super Saiyan form, at full speed.

He tried to dodge in the nick of time but failed. Trunks rammed his fist into Goten's gut, making him cough up blood. Trunks seemed to take some pleasure out of seeing his former best friend's pained expression. A cruel smile was spread across Trunks' face as Goten struggled to get back up on his feet on the shaky pillar of stone. Trunks hovered up in the air, waiting for his friend to get serious and fight for real.

Goten got back into his stance, though he was already weakened. With a loud battle cry, he transformed, the heat of his golden aura radiating from his body.

"Trunks! We don't have to do this-" Goten tried one last time to reason with him, but it was no use. Trunks launched a ki blast at him, cutting him off and filling the air surrounding Goten with dust that made him cough, and drastically reduced his vision.

Hovering up, Goten did his best to clear the air around him using his ki, but before he could even see it coming, Trunks slammed him down from behind, striking him so hard that Goten was almost knocked out of his Super Saiyan state. Goten rocketed down towards the ground at an immense speed, but was able to stop himself just before he would have smacked into the ground, face-first. As he hovered, he noticed that he was just inches from the ground, the tip of his nose almost grazing a stone.

He sighed, relieved, but knew the fight wasn't over, it most likely wouldn't be until one of them was knocked out cold.

 _'He…wouldn't actually try to **kill** me?!'_ Goten considered Trunks' intentions. His attacks were incredibly strong, he most likely could have been killed if it weren't for a bit of luck and what skills he had. Both men were a little sloppy in their techniques, but that was natural after not training for quite some time.

Goten regained his balance, and prepared for the attack Trunks had fired from behind, dodging successfully. Goten had to fight back, there was no way he could wait for Trunks to run out of stamina and come to his senses before he was seriously hurt. Goten moved swiftly, catching his former friend off guard, and kicking him from behind.

Like Goten, Trunks was just able to stop himself from colliding with a solid mass of stone, a cliff this time.

Trunks was only enraged further now, and the two exchanged rapid attacks, blow to blow, yet neither seemed to get anywhere. Trunks launched straight at Goten, fist first, and Goten did the same, their fists colliding with each other's cheeks, causing them both to leap back, the two equally damaging each other.

Exhausted now, with their clothes torn from battle, they paused to regain their stamina and ki, breathing heavily. Goten saw that the both of them were struggling to continue, which was in a way a little pathetic, showing how the two had abandoned their training in adulthood almost completely; and so, he powered down, exhaling as the golden ki dissipated back within his aching body.

"What are you doing?!" Trunks yelled, confused and still furious. "This fight isn't over, Goten!" Trunks powered up further, his aura growing larger, causing the rocks on the ground close to him to shake.

"Trunks! **Please** , stop!" Goten begged him. His heart raced and there was a moment of disbelief as he saw Trunks getting into the stance to fire a Galick Gun.

 _'There's no way he'd really fire that in his Super Saiyan form!'_ Goten realised and gasped, _'That could destroy Earth!'_ Goten knew nothing he said would matter, his only solution was to fire an equally strong Kamehameha wave to try and direct both blasts upwards.

"Ka…me…" The blue ball of ki began to form in his hands, the heat of it giving him a tingling sensation on his skin. "…ha…me-"

He was so transfixed on his own attack, and the growing energy in Trunks' hands, that Goten did not even notice Piccolo's ki approaching. The Namekian, in what was like a flash of lightning, struck both boys; distracting them from maintaining their own ki, and knocking them out of their Super Saiyan forms.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT AN ATTACK LIKE THAT COULD HAVE DONE?!" His voice boomed and echoed in the dark night, reverberating through the barren land. Goten looked away from Piccolo with guilt, as did Trunks, while the Namekian continued his lecture.

"YOU BOYS PUT THE ENTIRE PLANET IN DANGER WITH YOUR PETTY FIGHTING!"

Piccolo went on further, "Goten! I told you to focus on your job instead of that girl!"

Trunks interrupted, "Wait! Piccolo, you knew about this the _whole_ time?! Why didn't you tell me he had a thing for my girlfriend?!"

Piccolo responded with, "I left it to Goten to decide to be honest or not…besides, I'm not really one for gossiping." Trunks remained quiet after that, his own thoughts were loud enough and Piccolo scoffed, mentioning that they were lucky Vegeta didn't reach them first, because he would have made sure the boys were firmly punished for their irresponsible actions.

"Now…I want the both of you to go home, and go to sleep! You both need to get your heads straight before you drag the entire planet into your childish fights, which were in fact, terribly painful to watch! It's clear you've both forgotten even the mere basics of fighting…but that's besides the point…" Piccolo turned around, his cape flowing on the cold wind, and flew off. Trunks looked at Goten one more time, shaking his head, then zoomed off towards home. Goten took a deep breath, then went home too, feeling like he was the world's worst best friend.

* * *

  
Goten doubted he even had a job to go to that Monday. Why would Trunks still want him around? He did say he would kill him if he was caught near Noudelle again, though Goten hoped it was just exaggeration brought on by Trunks' state of mind at the time. Goten spent the weekend moping about, lying to his mother that he was sick, and was sleeping it off.

"No wonder you're sick! You were outside in the cold for ages last night!" She had said to him on Saturday morning, scolding him like usual.

Goten wished he could sleep for the whole weekend, in-between all the chores he had to do in the house. When he was awake all he could think of was Noudelle, and what had happened with Trunks; sleep was his only escape from the cruel reality he was living in. In the back of his mind he entertained the idea of wanting to just sleep forever, but Goten knew he shouldn't give up hope, his father would scold him if he did…well, if he was around anyway.

Monday morning came. It was what he had been dreading the whole weekend, but Goten just had to accept that time would not stop for him, or anyone else for that matter. Dragging himself out of bed, Goten made his way to work, where he expected to be fired immediately.

He was called into Trunks' office, which was actually quite surprising. Goten didn't expect Trunks to fire him himself, he presumed Trunks would be too angry to even look Goten in the face. He went up in the lift, the ride feeling much longer than usual. Goten felt inferior to the other workers in the building, who were wearing formal business outfits, unlike him. He wore his usual factory uniform, earning him strange looks from the staff in the office buildings, the women whispering to each other, though Goten doubted they were talking about how attractive he was.

Goten took a deep breath and entered Trunks' spacious office. His billionaire ex-best friend stood at the open window, smoking a cigarette. He was calm, yet did not turn to look at Goten, and kept his voice low as he spoke, "I've decided not to fire you."

Goten exhaled, relieved, and was about to thank him but Trunks cut him off by continuing,

"However…If I hear that you've been talking to my girlfriend, you'll be out of a job, is that clear?" Goten nodded, hiding his frustration. What had happened was not his fault. It would be wrong of him to say that everything was Noudelle's fault, though. Both were to blame here, and Goten bit his tongue, understanding Trunks' pain and vexation.

"My idea of facing you in battle that night was irresponsible, and I apologise for it," Trunks was very eloquent, it was clear that he was in his businessman mode here. "However, I am not ready to forgive you, but while we are here, we will be professional about this, understand?" Goten agreed and went off down to the factory, away from Trunks and Noudelle, ignoring all the stares and whispers, which reminded him of high school in a sense.

Goten worked harder than ever, getting through tons of work to distract him from his problems, burying them deep down. It was much easier than facing them. Naife, acting more sincere and sensitive than usual, asked him if he was ok.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine…just trying to be an efficient worker." Goten answered, giving her an almost believable fake smile.

"No offense, but you don't seem the type to go for the employee of the month award." Naife caught him out on his lie. "Besides…I always win it, every single month!"

"…Well…maybe things will be different this month!" Goten grinned cheekily, but she still bought none of it, and after a moment of brief laughter, mentioned, "There's a rumour going around that you kissed Noudelle…is…that true?"

Goten didn't want Naife to think he was that kind of person. Naife was someone with firm morals, she would think less of him if she knew the truth, and losing another friend was not something Goten wanted.

"Who said that?" He asked, trying his best not to seem defensive.

"It was just a rumour…I don't know who started it…but it isn't true, right?"

"Uh…well, it isn't fully true…she kissed me…" Goten admitted, and braced himself for a scolding when Naife gasped, but instead she was angry at Noudelle; it seemed that she automatically believed Goten.

"See?! She doesn't even deserve Trunks, the _little **bitch!**_ " Naife slammed her fist on a hard metal desk.

Goten was taken aback by her words, it was previously impossible to imagine such a precious, innocent girl like Naife swearing, not even his older brother said something worse than 'damn'.

"Hey! I have an idea!" Naife calmed down, though a scarily sinister smile crept across her face.

"Maybe we can prove that Noudelle _did_ come onto you…then Trunks will think she's a cheating bitch and leave her!" She suggested.

"Why and how would you do that?!" He did his best to keep his voice down, though the sound of the machinery drowned it out anyway.

"Well…if Trunks dumps Noudelle…that means you can have her, right? And I can have a shot with Trunks, so it works for both of us!"

Goten still wasn't convinced.

"I…still don't know how we can do it…" She pondered on the idea for a moment, pushing up her thick-rimmed glasses that had fallen a little too far down the bridge of her nose.

"Trunks said he'd fire me if he ever saw me with Noudelle..." Goten mentioned, and Naife came up with a vague plan, "If you can make Noudelle kiss you again …and look like you're confused and holding back…I could record it, and show Trunks!"

Goten raised his eyebrows, unsure of whether this plan was possible or not.

"Trunks will like me for telling him the truth…and then Noudelle can be with you!"

"How do I get her to kiss me again?" Goten inquired.

"I dunno…do what you did before?" She suggested, and Goten thought about it.

"Fine…I guess I'll have to figure out how to talk to her again without being seen…" He muttered, and Naife cheerily walked off, her prominent hips swaying, as did her long dark brown hair, which she had forgotten to tie up.

Goten now needed to come up with a way to put their plan into action, so during break whilst no-one was around, he approached Noudelle.

"Hey-" He tried to greet her.

"Goten, you shouldn't be talking to me." She bluntly stated. "Trunks is already mad enough…don't make things worse."

"Oh, so you haven't been honest with him, have you? No, instead you let me take the blame for everything!" Goten snapped at her, surprising even himself.

"I already feel guilty enough, Goten!" She replied. "Just leave me alone…it's better for the both of us…"

"It's better to live a lie?" He asked, leaning over her desk. "Why don't you just break up with Trunks, and tell him the truth while you're at it?" He suggests, in an attempt to try and help her.

"Sure. Just leave the man I love…the man who can give me a great future, and go off with you?" Her words stung, but she immediately apologised, not meaning to sound like that.

"Look…things are _complicated_ …just…wait for things to calm down!" Noudelle sighed. "I…love Trunks…but then there's also you…and I just don't know what to do."

Goten didn't know what to say to that, and left, but at least now he had a solid plan which he could act on today.

Goten was beginning to understand Noudelle more. She liked how Trunks was devoted to her, would treat her like a princess, giving her any physical desire she longed for. She also liked Goten, because he was fun and still caring, a very good listener as well, and romantic in a different sort of way. He decided to leave Noudelle a note when she was away from her desk, sneaking up from the factory, unnoticed by all the busy office workers.

The note told her to come to where Trunks' spaceship was stored, which was a room that no-one entered very often, knowing it could land them in trouble if they did. It was also where they had bonded in an event that had transpired only a week or two ago, but it felt like they had known each other for a longer amount of time. Goten could only hope she would show up.

For a moment or two, he thought his plan had failed when Noudelle was a little late. She apologised, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ears, revealing those same star earrings. Goten had told Naife to be waiting close by with her phone, so that she could record them through a crack in the door. Naife hid herself well; so well, in fact, that Goten hardly knew she was there. Perhaps she had done it before?

"Hurry up, Goten…I want to get lunch…" Noudelle urged him. His heart quickened and he was beginning to really regret this plan, but convinced himself it would benefit everyone.

"Uh, I…wanted to tell you…I'm going to quit this job." It was the first thing he could come up with.

"What? Why?" Noudelle raised an eyebrow.

"Well…I just think that it's better if I'm not around to get in the way of you and Trunks…I just feel awkward, you know?" He sounded as natural as he could, and was technically telling the truth about his feelings, though his mother would never allow him to leave this job.

Noudelle stayed silent.

"So...I guess this is goodbye for now?" Goten smiled, even though his heart ached, knowing that he was tricking her.

"Well…It's sweet you're doing this for me…and Trunks, I guess." She pushed the same strand of hair as earlier back behind her ears, looking directly into his eyes that were just as dark as hers.

"Could…I kiss you goodbye?" She asked, her cheeks going red just from asking, even though this was not the first time they had kissed.

Naife was in position. Noudelle leaned in, and kissed him deeply; which would look good against her. It took Goten a great amount of willpower to hold back; the tantalizing taste of her tongue was enchanting, but no matter what, he could not throw his arms around her, no, instead he held back, pushing her off.

Noudelle was perplexed, "Why didn't you do what you did last time?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, I just wasn't expecting it to be that kinda kiss…" He scratched the back of his head, laughing. Naife had gone by now, and so Noudelle went back to the office. Goten instructed her not to mention him resigning to Trunks, which she did. Now, all he had to do was wait.

* * *

  
On Tuesday, Goten was once again filled with nerves as he made his way to work, even though he knew what was going to happen. He didn't bother to check if Noudelle had been fired, instead he went to the factory as normal. As he was caught in his own thoughts, Naife pulled him aside, almost giving him a heart attack.

"We did it Goten!" She exclaimed, full of joy. "I showed Trunks, and he believed me because I'm such a loyal employee!"

"Did…Noudelle get fired?" Goten asked, feeling guilty.

"Yeah! I heard their whole conversation through the door!" She smiled sweetly, looking as adorable as ever, even though she had destroyed Noudelle's life to an extent.

"She totally deserved it! And guess what~?" Naife sang.

"What?"

"Trunks is promoting me to Noudelle's job!" She swooned over him, "Now I get to be as close to him as she was…hopefully even closer in time!~" She winked and walked off, a spring in her step.

Goten decided to go see Noudelle, who was packing her stuff up on the top floor where she usually worked, her messy desk now empty; no biscuits laid out for him. She seemed to have been crying, her eyes were red and watery like at the party. Noudelle dropped her box as soon as she saw him, and ran up and hugged him.

"Goten…I'm being fired…" She sniffed.

"I'm sorry…" He held her close and she let go to wipe her tears.

"No, it's my fault…" She replied, and Goten held himself together somehow, knowing he had done this to her.

"Imagine what my family would think of me if they knew! They told me the city would change me…and now look at me!" She sobbed. "I deserve this…for being so sinful." Goten comforted her for a while longer and then she realised something.

"Goten…weren't you resigning yesterday?"

"Uh…well, I changed my mind-" He lied.

"And…why were you being so weird when I kissed you?"

Before Goten could give a suitable answer, she gasped, stepping back from him.

"You…set me up?!" She looked incredibly hurt, her usually brilliant, sparkling eyes full of malice.

"How else did Naife know we were there, you're her friend!?" She clenched her fists,and didn't care about how many people were in that office, or how much of a wreck she looked.

"Goten, _how could you?!_ " Her voice broke as she cried, and Goten felt his eyes water.

"I trusted you… I really did like you! But now you've fucked **everything** up!"

She was right.

"All you've got left is Trunks' friendship…and now you've let that psycho near him!" Goten was puzzled, and it was visible on his face.

"You're telling me you don't remember that Naife went to your high school?!"

Goten thought about Naife for a moment. He was certain they did not go to school together…but then he remembered.

She was a year younger than him, and most called her 'Bloody Naife' to mock her, even if they were a little afraid of the girl. She was known for being a weird little pervert, with rumours going around the school about her being insane, and of things she had done to people she fell for and those around them. Naife had a huge crush on Trunks, like many other girls did. What made her different from the rest was that Naife was very possessive, and would make terrible things happen to those who dated Trunks. Goten was surprised she never did anything to him, since he was very close to Trunks, which he presumed would have made her jealous. She looked incredibly different now that she was in her mid 20s, but Trunks still had never noticed her existence, until now.

"I-" Goten finally opened his mouth, but Noudelle slapped him hard across the face, something he was more than used to, but it stung harder than ever. Noudelle left, carrying her stuff and did not turn to say goodbye to Goten. There was nothing Goten could do either but regret his actions.

He felt numb, yet still in shock for the rest of the working day. Naife had already moved up to the office. She thanked Goten as she left the factory, and said goodbye to the others in there, who were glad she was going. Goten felt rather used.

Naife had manipulated him into doing her dirty work, allowing her to rise up in the ranks and get what she wanted, whilst all Goten got was a slap in the face, and a harsh dose of reality. While it was true that he had regained Trunks' friendship, (the CEO had apologised later that day) he had lost Noudelle, and his morals in the process.

Soon, it was time to go home. The evening was bitterly cold, so he flew at a slower pace in the hopes that the howling winds wouldn't freeze him to death, but eventually decided to power through it, using his aura to keep himself warm.

He tried to distract himself from what had happened, in the same way he did on the weekend, but it was impossible to sleep. How could he live with what he had done?! He tossed and turned in his bed, the minutes felt like hours and the hours like days; nothing was right anymore.

Then… it hit him.

He sprang up out of bed. He had an idea that required drastic measures, but he knew he could make everything right by doing it.

Son Goten knew what he had to do.

He needed to use the power that his father kept safe from villains all his life, the thing that had started the journey of his family and friends…

He needed the Dragonballs.

And, he knew where to find them... and just what to wish for.


	7. Be Careful What you Wish For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first wrote this chapter I actually did it in one day-  
> Also, I’ve began to upload my other fic, which was my first, called Space is No Place for The Weak, which focuses on Raditz growing up in Frieza’s army, so you can check it out if you’re interested

* * *

The Dragonballs were kept close by. There was a small building outside their quaint home. It was often used for storage these days, and kept the Dragonballs safely within. It was easy to keep them there, although Bulma had offered to protect them in a high security safe at Capsule Corp. The mystical orbs held a lot of sentimental value to Goten, however, and he vowed to protect them in the same way his father did.

Opening the door with a creak, Goten crept in, being careful not to knock anything over. He was lucky enough to exit the house without his mother hearing him. Using the flashlight on his phone to provide light, he searched the room for them. Dust tickled his nose, causing him to sneeze, and the wind chilled him to the bone, the force of it enough to make the door of the shed to move, eerily squeaking as it did.

There were various boxes, full of things like old clothes, photos and awards. Goten looked through some of them, trying not to get distracted by all the memories. Remembering his past felt bittersweet; his days of childish innocence saw through the rose coloured lens of nostalgia. It amplified his regret and confused his feelings further, so he took a deep breath, leaving it all behind, and kept on searching.

He heard a faint ringing sound. It was familiar, yet strange. It was quiet at first, but the more he listened, ignoring everything else, the louder it became. Goten walked over to where it was the loudest, and inspected the box in front of him. Pulling it open, he found 3 of the Dragonballs.

 _'If only my father's quests for them was this easy…'_ Goten smiled as he took the three in his hands, using them as an indicator to where the others were. He recalled that they would glow, and became sonorous when close by.

He was led to another box, high up on a wonky wooden shelf his father most likely constructed. There were another three, which he took in his arms, the ringing louder now, the orange glow illuminating the room more than even his phone did.

Just one more.

Goten put the orbs out in front of him, until he saw a faint glow behind a picture frame. Reaching behind it, he grabbed hold of what felt like a piece of cloth.

He didn't expect to be on the verge of tears when he saw what it was.

It was the outfit he wore as a small child. The outfit had once belonged to his older brother, who had worn it when he was kidnapped by their uncle. It had a hat too, which had his father's 4-star-ball stuck to the top, something which was a stupid idea, Goten thought, since the Dragonballs were highly sought after, often by evil people. When Goten was big enough to wear it, his mother had decided to glue it on again, but because of the ball occasionally needing to be used, she took it off.

It was a fitting place to keep it, Goten concluded. His mother missed the youth of her children, as well as her husband; the 4-star-ball must have meant a lot more to her than the others too, so she put it back where she deemed it belonged. The half-Saiyan took another deep breath, wiping a tear that fell down his cheek, which was not the first time he had cried today, then took the Dragonballs in a little sack he had tied around his waist with a piece of rope.

Goten figured it would be best to summon the dragon far from his house, so that it would not wake his mother. Most people who could stop him were asleep now, with the exception of Piccolo and Trunks, perhaps, so it was imperative he was far away from the both of them too. He could not mess up this wish, no matter what.

Flying out into the sky, Goten glanced up at the softly twinkling stars overhead. They were a beautiful sight, though they made his heart sting because it reminded him of Noudelle.

 _'It's ok…'_ Goten reassured himself. _'This wish will fix everything!'_ He was determined to go through with this, it had been a wish he had considered making before, at a younger age when filled with frustration, but only ended up fantasizing about the endless possibilities, he was always too afraid to actually do it.

The ocean was still and gentle as he zoomed over it, the moon's glow reflecting on the vast body of water that stretched on for miles. He turned his head to face the moon. It was always mesmerizing to him for some reason, like it ignited something in his soul. He supposed it was his Saiyan blood, reacting to the Blutz waves it gave out.

His journey came to an end as he landed on the shore of an empty island, the sand getting into the worn trainers he had thrown on. Adjusting his hoodie, which he put on over his pajamas in the hopes to prevent the cold getting to him, to no avail, Goten untied the bag, letting the Dragonballs roll onto the sand. He arranged them perfectly, making them shine and sing out more than they did previously, and summoned the mighty dragon that had helped them many times when they were in a crisis: Shenron.

"Eternal Shenron! By your name I summon you forth!"

Goten had never actually summoned the dragon alone before, but he remembered the words sounding something like that. Nothing occurred for a moment and Goten thought maybe he had said it wrong, but the sky soon became darker than it already was, thick clouds filling it. The thunder rumbled and a huge beacon of light, which was blindingly bright, shot up from the center. Goten marveled as lightning struck, and the beam of golden light swirled and grew massive, and with a deep growl, it dissipated, revealing the colossal dragon who loomed over him, its fiery red eyes glowing.

" **State your wish.** " The voice echoed and boomed, a clap of thunder following it.

"Shenron! I want to be the greatest hero the universe has ever seen!" He exclaimed.

" **It is within my power…** " Goten had a grin on his face as he was about to state his second wish, but Shenron continued, "But I don't believe this is wise."

"Why not?! Besides, you're meant to grant whatever I say if you can do it, right?" Goten folded his arms, demanding he get his wish.

" **To be a great hero, one must defeat a great force of evil…so I warn you, not to make this wish.** "

Shenron did his best to persuade Goten out of making the wish, but there was no stopping him now.

Shenron stopped trying since he was beginning to lose his patience.

" **Your wish has been granted.** " His eyes flashed red and his first wish was completed, but Goten felt no different. He presumed it took a while to work, maybe his power would kick in when he fought a villain, whoever that may be.

" **State your next wish.** " The dragon told him, making Goten have to think for a moment.

"Hmm…I didn't really think of that…" He was sure saving the world would make every woman love him, Noudelle being the one he was after. He was certain that she would no longer love Trunks once he saved her, but maybe his second wish could ensure it?

Goten then suddenly realised something: If there was evil to face, his allies would help him face it, one of them being Trunks. Goten needed to win on his own, to be the sole person who delivered the final blow. A new threat would only make his father- who was Kami knows where, want to join the fight, taking away his spotlight. So, when prompted by the impatient dragon, Goten answered, "For my next wish… I want you to stop my friends from interfering in battle!"

Shenron let out what sounded like an exasperated sigh, and stated that his wish was granted.

The eternal dragon reverted back into the balls, and as the orbs became ordinary looking stones, the sky lightened, revealing that the sun had just begun to rise. The balls shot up into the air, before spreading. A trail of light followed them as they blasted off in different directions, far away from each other, to be found again, which wasn't that hard due to Bulma's powerful radar and his ability to fly at an incredible speed.

Goten flew back home, making sure there were no traces of his disappearance as he got there. He threw himself onto his bed, thoroughly exhausted, and whilst he was very excited to see what Shenron's magic could do for his situation, he longed for sleep, which soon came.

* * *

"GOTEN! WAKE UP!" Chi-Chi screamed in his ear, frightening him to death. "HURRY! YOU'LL BE LATE TO WORK!" She frantically opened his closet, throwing his uniform on his bed, then grabbed a piece of toast and shoved it in his mouth as he was rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"You can't stay and have breakfast now, so take it to go!" She yelled, and Goten groaned. This was giving him memories of school mornings. She hit him across the face, lighter than usual, something she also used to do to get him up for school. It tended to wake him up, and today was no exception. Goten clumsily did everything he needed as fast as he could, munching on the piece of toast as he did so, and made his way to work, flying faster than normal.

He was still tired from yesterday, and flying even more was heavily draining his stamina.

 _'I wonder what Shenron was warning me about…'_ He thought, believing nothing had changed but as soon as he made his way into the center of West City, his eyes widened as he saw what seemed to be a huge tear in the sky, above the tall skyscrapers of the city. Goten landed, catching his breath, and stood in the crowd of terrified civilians; who were no strangers to odd occurrences like these, but were all hopeful that it wasn't in connection to someone evil like Cell or Buu. There were murmurs and shocked faces all around, with people suggesting they call Mr. Satan to investigate.

Goten looked into the void, which held only blackness, with no way to see what was really within it. It was like some wormhole, and Goten was unsure of what to do. Snapping him out of his worries, the police arrived, making the crowd step back as they put police tape as a barrier, to stop people getting too close. The black void within the tear rippled, and the crowd gasped and chattered, wondering what would emerge. The police aimed their guns at it, ready to fire, and Goten was prepared to fight.

Creatures that looked like black shadows with piercing red eyes came out of it. They had cruel grins, and it was clear they had malicious intent. There were four, two on each side and some people fled, whilst others recorded from their phones from a distance, taking shelter behind bins and benches, or whatever they thought would protect them.

The police fired their guns, their arms shaking from recoil, but the bullets went right through the beings. The demons laughed. Though they were shrouded in darkness, some of their features were visible, they had wings and horns like most demons, and pointy ears. People screamed as they saw them chuckle, the sound was heard all over the city and like always, the camera crew and reporter of ZTV were there. Nothing seemed to scare them after the horrific Cell Games, though they were quite old now. Goten didn't bother warning them to run, he was transfixed on his enemies, and trying to locate a weak spot.

One demon began speaking, " **SILENCE, FOOLS!** " Screams were still heard, arguably more so once its deep, demonic voice reverberated around the city.

"Your princess will be here shortly to talk to you humans!" Another added.

 _'Princess?'_ Goten had no clue what was going on now.

Out of nowhere, a girl had appeared in front of the rip between time and space. Goten was close enough to see her. She had a purple aura, her energy was clearly evil and massive. The lady summoned a girl next to her, bound in magical chains, who struggled out of them, and squealed as ropes of purple energy constricted her body.

It was Noudelle.

She was being kidnapped by this woman, who wore a crown and some sort of royal outfit, which was rather revealing. Tears of blood seemed to come out of her eyes but she seemed far from sad; her ruby coloured lips curved into a sinister smile as she summoned a pair of glasses and wore them.

 _"Naife?!"_ Goten's jaw dropped as he recognised her, though her eyes were crimson, and no longer hazel. She was equipped with many blades on a belt around her waist, and a choker he had never seen on her before.

"Ah, so you remember me now?" She giggled, sounding a little unhinged.

"Let her go!" He commanded her, but she chuckled heartily along with her allies.

"Now, why on this _terrible_ earth would I do that?" Behind the sweetness that was Naife's voice was the low, grating quality of a demonic voice. Gazing up at her and her appearance, it was clear she was possessed, why else would she have that much energy?

Goten was going to power up into Super Saiyan, but Trunks came from out of nowhere, wielding his sword; the one Tapion had given to him as a young boy. He tried to fight the demons who had launched at him; their duty was to protect their princess who blushed, watching Trunks fight so passionately. Trunks attempted to go Super Saiyan, but it wasn't working, causing him to become frustrated. Goten was about to leap in with a battle cry, but Naife in her new, possessed form whistled, commanding her soldiers to stop and go back to the positions they were in.

"I'm glad you'd fight so hard…just for me~!" Naife giggled, acting innocent.

"Naife?! What happened?!" Trunks shouted, after he at last realised who it was holding his ex-girlfriend hostage.

"Mmh, I like it when you say my name...~" She grinned, and was going to flirt further, but Noudelle yelled, "Trunks! Get me out before this psycho kills me!-"

Naife growled, her anger making the ground shake, and used her energy to make Noudelle shut up.

"I'm sick and tired of people calling me that!" Naife screamed, her uncontrollable energy powerful enough to really begin to damage the city.

"All of you awful people…you were so mean to me! You believed I was crazy…the only thing I am crazy about is _you_ , my love~!" She gazed into Trunks' sapphire eyes, her undying love for him made apparent. Trunks blushed and stepped back, feeling a little freaked out.

"They…called me 'Bloody Naife' to mock me! Now their blood will be spilt, they will pay for what they did, **every single earthling!"**

Her voice didn't resemble her own by the end, and the laugh hardly sounded like hers, it was eerily demonic, and could be heard for miles.

"What are you talking about?!" Trunks was seething with rage. "Let go of Noudelle **right now!** " He was ready to fight again, his ki and stamina refilled. He once again attempted Super Saiyan, but it was inexplicably not working.

"What?" Trunks looked down at himself, wondering why the golden aura hadn't surrounded him.

"You can have her, Trunks…" Naife explained, "All you have to do is go through this rift in the next hour before it closes, and come save her…otherwise she, and this whole planet will **die**!" She began reversing into the rift, dragging Noudelle; who was still struggling, and very confused as well as scared out of her mind as she was dragged into it. She had seen Trunks fight, something she had never witnessed before. She imagined he was strong, yes, but he was moving so fast, especially with that blade, which she was fascinated with from the first time she had seen it. Yet, it still wasn't enough to take on the people who were kidnapping her. Noudelle wanted to scream out one last time as she was taken into the black void, which was outwardly glossy and rippled like paint, one of her hands wriggled free of the anomaly she was trapped in, and she reached out to both men, who tried to grab her hand, but were repelled by the remnants of Naife's energy, before they could no longer be sensed.

"Shit…" Goten was beginning to piece things together. This was most likely the repercussions of the wish he had made, precisely what Shenron had tried to warn him about. He felt like an absolute idiot yet again, but could not give away that it was his doing, since the other warriors would kill him, unless they really all were limited in power.

Trunks decided they should go to Capsule Corp where it seemed that the others were gathered, their energy readable even though the energy from the rift and Naife's possessed form made it feel hazy, their readings not as clear, it was as if some of the evil energy from that realm was left behind.

* * *

"What do you mean, you _can't_ go Super Saiyan?!" Vegeta roared, his fury always amplified in times of stress.

"I tried earlier twice, father, it just wasn't working!" Trunks explained and the Prince of Saiyans scoffed.

"See? This is what happens when you don't train!" He then tried to go Super Saiyan, an easy feat for him now, though many years ago the transformation eluded him.

Nothing happened.

"What?!" He was taken aback. Vegeta tried again, raising his ki once more, but as soon as there was a small flicker of gold, it disappeared.

"Gohan, you try it!" Vegeta ordered him.

"Right…" He stood up, attempting it too, but nothing happened to him either.

Now it was Goten's turn. He could pretend he didn't have the ability to avoid suspicion, but if he stayed in his base form, he was weaker than everyone who could normally become a Super Saiyan. He decided to go Super Saiyan and act really surprised, just as everyone else was.

"Huh…that's weird…" He murmured, before powering down.

"We can deal with that problem later!" Vegeta cut in. "Now, tell me what the deal was with that weird wormhole thing!" Goten and Trunks explained their situation, and concluded that they believed Naife was possessed.

"They want you to be there in an hour?!" Goten was shocked at the news that another threat was going to try and harm his world, the very one he promised his father he would protect.

"Yes…we have even less time now…" Trunks looked at his fancy watch, reminding everyone that time was of the essence. It was visible that the rift was getting smaller from what they could see on the balcony of the mansion.

"She wants me there…" Trunks sighed.

"It's strange, she didn't want the Dragonballs…usually people that threaten the Earth are after that." Goten mentioned, worrying about the planet's future. Pan, who sat comfortably on a chair eating a cookie that Panchy was giving out to all the guests as if nothing was wrong at all, piped up, saying that Trunks shouldn't go alone.

"What if it's a trap to lure you to wherever that thing leads?"

"Smart thinking, kid! Besides, if you can't go Super Saiyan, it could get dangerous, you should take Goten!" Gohan suggested, and Goten agreed to it.

"Hey dad?" Pan smiled sweetly, wiping the cookie crumbs off her as she sat up, playing innocent.

"Heh...Seeing as I'm _so_ smart…can I go too?"

"No way young lady!" Gohan forbade her from going, saying it's far too dangerous for her, and that the boys could take care of it.

"Aww…" Pan slumped in the chair, pouting and folding her arms petulantly.

The trip was soon arranged. Trunks decided it would be best to take the ship he had built there. It couldn't carry very many people, so only Trunks and Goten would go. Trunks showed everyone the handiwork that was his spaceship, which he didn't expect to be used so practically, but at least it came in handy. Everyone marvelled at the creation, and as Trunks warned them to be careful, he went off to get changed into something that wasn't an expensive business suit, well, a very damaged business suit.

Bulma mumbled a few criticisms of his work; being that type of mother, but she was nevertheless impressed. Bulla thought Trunks could have done better with the interior of the ship, since she was rather superficial. Pan thought it was very cool, and so did his brother, who was more interested in the scientific aspect.

It was weird to have his family and friends in the ship he had shared his initial kiss with Noudelle with, yet it only made Goten more determined to save her, to bring her home in the ship she loved. He could imagine it now, holding her in his arms as they made their epic escape, kissing as they fled after his victory.

"Goten?" Bulma snapped him back to reality, asking him if he was going to wear something else.

"Well, I don't really have anything here…" Goten didn't really mind what he went in, as long as he was home relatively soon, and hailed as a hero.

"Oh, I think I have one of your father's outfits stored in a capsule!" Bulma speedily went to go get it.

With a click of the button and a simple throw, the capsule opened, releasing the outfit. Goten had to act pleased, but in reality, he wasn't too keen on being associated with his father in this endeavour. He went into another room to put it on and adjusted it accordingly. Wearing a gi felt odd after years of not wearing one, especially one that belonged to his father. It was a little big on him, but would do the job.

When he returned, it seemed that Trunks was ready too. Goten was pleased he didn't look as dorky as his friend, though in the past it was usually the opposite. Goten thought that Trunks looked like a loser in those shorts and with the necktie, but held his tongue, and it was clear Trunks was doing the same about Goten's attire.

"Well…I've brought everything we need, and adjusted the ship's gravity regulator." Trunks showed him inside, and let him take a seat. "We have senzus, food, water, spacesuits…yeah, I think we're set!" He smiled briefly, then remembered he needed one last thing, which he went to find.

Everyone else had gone back to the mansion at this point, the fighters all gathering to discuss where that energy came from initially, and trying to figure out how to resolve the issue regarding them lacking the Super Saiyan ability. Trunks had left the ship door open, and Goten was sure he heard something, but was sure it was his imagination. He checked his phone one last time, presuming there wouldn't be any Wi-Fi in wherever that rift led to, leaving a voicemail for his mother, so she wouldn't worry too much. Goten looked at himself in the reflection of the thick curved glass window, realising how much he had grown to look like his father, and tried to decide if that was a good or bad thing. Before he realised it, Trunks had made his return, and the boys were ready to go.

The roof of the building opened, and Trunks geared up the ship once they strapped themselves in. They would save Noudelle, no matter what, and get to the root of the problem; despite Goten being the one who had caused it-though Trunks had no knowledge of that. Goten didn't intend to get the girls involved, but at least now it meant Noudelle would forgive him.

The engine started, and they braced for launch, the ship's door slamming shut, and the safety measures activating.

The boys did not expect a cheerful Pan to jump up out of nowhere just as the ship had begun movement, blasting off at intense speed. Pan was lucky she was fast enough to strap herself into the last chair at the front of the ship, before she was thrusted into the ship's hull, becoming essentially a pancake due to the sheer force of the launch.

" _Pan?!_ What are you doing here?!" Trunks chastised the middle-schooler who whooped and cheered, thankful she was finally going on an adventure.

 _'Guess we're more alike than I thought…'_ Goten knew his brother would be angry when he realized she was missing, but now there was nothing he could do except try his best to protect his niece and save the girl he loved; the one he betrayed.

Trunks could not stop the ship now, and as the trio entered the rift that was now just large enough for the ship to squeeze through, Goten and Pan exclaimed, "WOO-HOO!" The both filled with childlike excitement, whilst the serious, mature Trunks scolded them, telling them it was a serious mission, but they all became silent upon seeing what was within the rift…


	8. Two Worlds Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for reading this far, it really means a lot to me!   
> Don’t worry if you felt my first few chapters were slow, things really damp up from here!  
> Enjoy!

They came out on the other side faster than expected.

"What?!" Pan exclaimed, leaning close to the window and looking around. They were in West City, the same spot they had left from, but the city was destroyed; smoke billowing from the broken buildings and rubble covering most of the roads, carcasses of old cars and felled trees lay everywhere.

"We just left; how could this happen?!" Goten was in shock, he could hardly believe this was the same bustling city he knew so well.

"Let's find somewhere to land, we can figure out what the hell is going on after that." Trunks was surprisingly calm, he was determined, as always, and ready to do what was best to resolve the problems that had arised.

The ship had a rocky landing, since the ground was so uneven and full of cracks, as if an earthquake had hit it. They were in the town centre, which wasn't too far from Capsule Corp. Goten sensed a familiar energy, but told everyone to be on their guard. Pan opened the door of the ship, having grown impatient of waiting, though still proceeding cautiously.

"C'mon, we have to see who's around and ask them what happened!" She flew out, and then screamed with her surprise as she saw what seemed to be Trunks, but younger.

The boy raised an eyebrow, and stepped back as the others flew out; ready to defend Pan, thinking she was in danger.

As expected, everyone was confused, and didn't know where to begin. The younger Trunks looked up at the sky, where the same rift the ship had entered remained.

"Huh? Did you guys do that?! And that ship…" The teenager was in awe of it, not knowing that it was in fact his alternate self that had constructed it. He ran up to it, the others too puzzled to stop him, then scanned every inch of the machine, and smiled upon seeing the familiar Capsule Corp logo.

"I get it now!" He laughed. "My mom has plans for a time machine…I guess she built it after all…"

" _What_ time machine? This is a ship I built, we flew through that rip in the sky, we just somehow ended up here." The older Trunks told himself, and his teenage version seemed very impressed, saying he hoped to be that good at inventing one day.

"Can someone tell me what the _hell_ is going on?!" Pan demanded.

"You're here to help me, aren't you? I must have saved your timeline…but…" The boy had only brought on more confusion with each word he spoke.

"This doesn't make sense! How can you guys be here if I haven't even gone back in time?!" He paced back and forth trying to understand what had happened, but there was no logical explanation.

"We don't know, but we need to save someone important!" Goten spoke, and the younger Trunks immediately turned to him, giving him a strange look.

"You…remind me of Gohan…I…" He swallowed, looking down. "I thought I sensed his energy…how stupid of me…"

"I'm Goten…I take it I don't exist in this world." He chuckled nervously. "I'm Gohan's younger brother and Trunks' best friend…my version of him, anyway…but, we can be friends too!"

"Oh…well, it's nice to meet you, Goten!" The two shook hands, which Goten found bizarre, to say the least. He remembered when Trunks had looked like this, the same outfit and everything, so Goten knew this version of him was only around 13 or 14 years old.

"Hey! You didn't introduce me!" Pan yelled, moving Goten out of the way and shaking the hand of the younger Trunks.

"My name is Pan, I'm Gohan's daughter…is my dad here? I wanna see how different he is!"

The teen sighed, "I…can't believe Gohan got married in your world…and, I'm sure he would have loved to meet you…but you're a few days too late…" He sniffed, wiping his eyes with his sleeves which were noticeably too long for him.

"What happened here? How did he die?!" Pan inquired, and the boy revealed that his world had been threatened by the androids, and that it had been like this for his whole life.

"Every fighter is dead but me. Most people live underground in hiding, like me and my mom…but you can stop them!" He hoped that these new arrivals would be the ones to help him avenge his master, and save his world.

"The androids? 17 and 18?" Older Trunks asked, making the teenager nod in response. "Yes, they're heartless machines who despise humanity! And you must have killed them in your time, surely?"

Older Trunks explained what happened when Cell arrived and how the androids had changed after the whole ordeal.

The teen sat on a pile of rubble, all the information he had received from the man who was his alternate self was a lot to take in. "Wow…Gohan really saved the world! And…I can't believe the androids aren't killers anymore in your version!"

"Maybe… _you_ could make them become good too somehow?" Pan suggested but the boy shook his head; claiming nothing would appease them but watching innocent people die in the sick, twisted games they played.

"Besides, Piccolo is dead…we can't make use of the Dragonballs..." The teenager went on, further explaining his situation. "My mom doesn't know Namek's location to use their Dragonballs, besides we don't have the parts to build another ship…we can just about barely find enough resources for the time machine."

There was a moment of silence as an explosion was heard in the distance, and the teenager stood up, ready for action.

"Please, help me! You're all Super Saiyans, right?! You must be after you defeated all those enemies you told me about!" He desperately pleaded.

"Well…Pan can't yet…and we've been having problems transforming in our world, everyone has except for me." Goten informed him, making the boy angrily blast the pile of rubble he was previously sitting atop.

"Looks like you and me will have to take them in our Super Saiyan form, let's hope it's enough to stop them!" The teen tried to go Super Saiyan, his hair managing to stick up the way it should and a spark of gold was visible for a split second, yet his aura did not turn golden, and the boy, exhausted, dropped to his knees, panting heavily. The others didn't know what else to do as he slammed his fist into the concrete road beneath him.

"Damn it! Why won't it happen again?!" He yelled, then tried to raise his ki again, but to no avail.

"Maybe you're having the same issue?" His older self tried to help him, but the teenager was stubbornly refusing to listen and stop trying.

"No! I can't have lost it! I'm focusing on my anger like Gohan taught me, but why doesn't it work?!" He brushed more tears and perspiration, however he wasn't any closer to reaching the transformation.

"I won't let his death be in vain! I-I can't let them win!"

Another explosion occurred in the distance, and screams could be heard. No-one knew what to do, or if their combined power was enough to kill them, knowing from what they had been told, and what they had seen that the androids were strong enough to combat Super Saiyans and defeat them.

Pan walked over to the young version of Trunks. She did her best to comfort him, which was rather unlike her.

"Hey…I may not know your version of my father like you did…but I am still his daughter…and I know he would be proud of you, Trunks!"

The boy glanced up at her smiling face.

"We should go to where you and your mom live, so we can figure out what to do next, ok?" Pan took his hand and helped him up. He agreed to take them there.

"We shouldn't fly, in case they see us." He began walking around a broken building, carefully stepping over any hazards and the others followed. They mostly already knew the way, since they were headed for Capsule Corp's main building.

 _'I wonder what this version of Bulma is like…'_ Goten thought to himself as Trunks led them into the underground bunker his mother was currently in, working away, not expecting visitors, let alone ones from an alternate universe…

* * *

"Hi, daddy!" A young girl with braided hair ran down the stairs, hugging her father as soon as he entered the door.

"Hey, princess!" The man put his cap on the girl, making her giggle as the front covered her eyes. "I missed you today…I bet you didn't miss me!" He took off his heavy boots and went into the living room, murmuring something about his back hurting, as usual, and exhaling as he sat down on the long, cream coloured sofa, the cat coming over to sit on his lap.

"Looks like I'm just in time for our show, princess!" The girl sat beside him as he flipped through the channels, trying to find the right one. Just as he had found it, the girl's mother called for her.

"Noudelle! Go wake your brothers up!"

Noudelle groaned, wondering why she had to go and wake them. They always slept in, since they were up playing video games all night, sometimes they wouldn't wake up until 4pm, and her mother would give them an earful then!

"Don't worry, I'll pause it!" Her father reassured her, and so she dragged herself up the creaking stairs, holding the handrail, which had drying towels draped over it, as she went. Bursting into her brothers' room, she yelled, _"Udon, Ramin! Wake up, dinner's nearly ready, mum will kill you if you don't get up!"_ The teenage boys stirred, checking their phones as they opened their eyes, and Noudelle went back down the stairs, ready to watch the show, but as she opened the door to the living room, she was greeted with a dark, empty void.

Terrified, she tried to go back out of the door, but it had slammed shut before she could get out. As hard as she tried, her chubby little arms could not pull open the handle.

"Mum!? Dad!?" She called out into the abyss she stood in. Trembling, she stepped forward, in the hopes to find something, or someone. She didn't know how far she had gone, but when she turned back around to check, the door she had entered through had disappeared.

Tears formed in her eyes, but just when she thought she was lost forever, Noudelle heard a familiar sound. Although faint, she could figure out where it was coming from. Walking closer in that direction, she realised that this was the theme song to the game show she would always watch with her father when he came home from a long day of work, their favourite thing to do every afternoon as dinner was being made.

"Daddy?!" She was desperate to hear his voice, for him to tell her she was safe. Noudelle ran over, the sound of the TV growing louder. She came face to face with another door, the same one she entered through, it seemed. Noudelle could no longer hear the TV. Gripping the door handle tightly and taking a deep breath she went through, only to come out a little older, and into the middle of an argument her parents were having amongst themselves, each word, loud like a rumble of thunder.

She would rather go back through the void, but yet again there was no escape. She didn't cry though, that would be selfish. Noudelle was always such a good girl. The most perfect daughter one could have. Her mother had wanted a girl all her life, so after bearing 2 sons and having a miscarriage of another, it was a blessing from God to finally have a little girl; something to cherish and treat like a princess.

Noudelle always tried her best in school and was known for being very clever, gifted in a sense, which always made her happy. She was better than her brothers, undoubtedly. Yes, life was perfect in the small town they called home, so long as she kept quiet about what was going on within her own family and kept to her studies and religion.

She was perfectly happy in Honeytown.

Yes, her life was set in stone. She would graduate with the best grades and become a doctor. Then, she would be married off to someone equally as perfect, and together they would start a perfect family, just like her own. Noudelle was certain she would live happily ever after…she was a princess after all, and her storybooks had taught her that all she needed now was her Prince Charming, so it really didn't matter that she was so horribly upset and afraid of her parents when they argued.

The girl closed her eyes, imagining herself in her own perfect world, like always. When she opened them again, she was stuck in a prison cell.

"Huh?" She sat up, rubbing her head which had been against the cold, hard concrete floor.

_'I guess I was just dreaming.'_

She _wished_ she was dreaming about being kidnapped by an absolute psycho, yet it was not so. Panic set in.

Where exactly was she? And what would happen to her?!

Scrambling to her feet, Noudelle peered out the bars of the cell she was trapped in. She had no clue what this strange place was outside her jail cell. The sky was a reddish purple, with misty clouds hanging in the air. She seemed to be on a cliff face, an abyss below her. The ground was a deep purple and there was a green waterfall on the opposite side of the cliff.

Even if she **did** manage to escape, she was still trapped on the cliff, with the ground being a very long way down.

Turning around, there was a steel door behind her.

"Hey!" She banged on it, her knuckles hurting from doing so. The metal was stronger and harder than expected, it was clearly not any Earth metal she knew of. She was certain she was not on Earth. Noudelle only remembered being dragged away into that void, but then it all went black.

"Let me out of here, _please!"_ She begged, hoping that someone was listening to her from the other side. She kept screaming for help, even though her voice was weak and she was already weary, her memory hazy but coming back in flashes. From what she could recall, she was knocked out by Naife, but she didn't know how. She remembered being restrained by her magic, and seeing some more demons, but not much else.

The door unexpectedly was unlocked, and Noudelle took a step back, ready to defend herself.

"She's finally awake…" A demon with piercing red eyes, pointed ears, horns and pink skin said to the other, who looked the same, except his skin was purple, and he was larger. Before she could utter a word, they had chained her using some sort of magic, similar to what Naife had done earlier, and they dragged her out of the cell, marching her down the corridor.

Eyes darting around, she spotted many cells like hers down the frigid corridor, her shoes making a clunking sound that reverberated in every step she took. Most people within the individual prisons were asleep, and though her eyesight wasn't the best, she thought she could see other humans trapped here.

"Princess Naife wishes to see you," The larger demon growled, making her heart pound, fear running through her.

"Aren't you lucky?" He chuckled, opening a wide door in front of her, and leading her in. To her surprise, she arrived in an elegant palace, the prison was just a separate part.

There were many other corridors, with people working in them; slaves being commanded by more of the strange, demon people. Noudelle heard the crack of a whip and someone crying out in pain, the sound making her gasp. She was able to glance out of a large stained-glass window, with an image of a foul demon in it, the bright coloured glass refracting light onto the red carpet she walked across.

Going further down the hall, the guards chatted to each other, their laughs deep and hearty. Noudelle was completely freaked out by the many pictures of Trunks on the wall, her now _ex-_ boyfriend. She wondered how they could be so beautifully painted in such a short length of time, but figured it was Naife's magic that created these many pictures. Noudelle blushed at seeing some of them, seeing as Trunks was practically naked in them, and she remembered just how attractive he was. He was her first proper boyfriend. She recalled being mesmerised by all those muscles he had, and had joked that he was far stronger than Mr. Satan, but by seeing the way he had leapt into action against those shadow monsters, like some superhero, had proven to her that Trunks was no ordinary man.

"We're here." She was brought to a huge door, with two guards standing on either side of it, but she doubted Naife even needed them, she was scarily powerful from what she had seen.

The guards let them in, and just as Noudelle was able to take a glance at the deadly beauty that was Naife, she was pushed to the floor, then told to remain on her knees, Naife proclaiming that she didn't _deserve_ to lay eyes upon 'her majesty', due to her treachery.

"You won't get away with this!" Noudelle exclaimed, and didn't back down even as the guards threatened her, ready to fire energy blasts at her. Naife snapped her fingers and they immediately stopped, stepping back away from Noudelle, who struggled as she was being lifted from her feet, dragged closer to Naife by her magic. She was helplessly suspended in the air, Naife only laughed as she tried to wriggle free again in a futile effort.

 _"Trunks will come and save me!"_ Noudelle said, more to reassure herself, than to threaten Naife.

"Duh! That's the point, silly!" Naife giggled, acting all sweet, when she was really one of the most malicious person Noudelle had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

"When my brave knight arrives…I can make him into my wonderful Prince Charming~!" Noudelle realised that Naife was completely unhinged, and lost in her own sick fantasy.

 _'She told Trunks to follow us through the portal…he must have gone through, surely!'_ Noudelle thought to herself _. 'But…where is he?'_

" **Where** did you send him?!" Noudelle demanded an answer.

"To be honest…I don't know. I couldn't set the portal to come here, not _just_ yet…and, I still need to prepare our wedding. If he came here so soon, it would ruin the fun!" Naife clasped her hands together and grinned.

"As if he would ever marry _you!"_ Noudelle yelled, snapping at her. Naife retorted with, "Honey…he dated _you_." Noudelle was about to come back with something, but Naife continued, "Let's face it, I'm hotter that you, and _far_ more powerful…he'll have **no** choice but to fall for me!"

 _'The nerve of this bitch!'_ Noudelle growled, but kept her mouth shut as Naife snapped her fingers, summoning a potion bottle in her hand.

"Besides…if all else fails, this potion will make him fall head over heels in love with me!" Naife then signalled for the guards to take her away, as she released her hold on Noudelle.

The two men grabbed Noudelle, who was too drained to resist their hold on her, and took her back into her miniscule cell facing the abyss.

 _'I need to find a way to warn Trunks…and get **rid** of that love potion!'_ Noudelle was determined to not let herself be the damsel in distress in this situation, no, she wouldn't demean herself like that.

 _'I hope you guys are ok…wherever you are…'_ She looked out into the open, thinking about everyone she knew: her family, Goten, and of course, Trunks.

* * *

At first, Bulma was in complete shock and disbelief, shaking as she saw a grown up version of her own son, and mistaked Goten for Goku for a moment, knowing it could not be Gohan who she had helped bury only a few days prior. Goten explained the situation as Pan scoured the makeshift laboratory, knocking over a few things in her failure to be delicate.

Young Trunks was able to get through to his mother better, helping her understand the severity of the situation; the loss of Super Saiyan, the demons, and the kidnapping of Noudelle.

"Don't worry, mom! They're here to help us though… _right?"_ He turned to his older self, giving him a look. Goten realised that they wouldn't be receiving much help from this version of Bulma and Trunks, unless he helped _them_ with their problems, which went by the names of #17 and #18, who were like family in his world.

"Well…I guess we could try?" Goten offered his idea to ambush them, he and Pan would take on #17, whilst both Trunks' would combat #18.

"We have the element of surprise to our advantage…plus, they'll be confused as to where we came from, and how there are two of you." Goten was rather pleased at his plan, and how intelligent he came off as he explained it.

"Wow…that was smart…are you feeling okay, Uncle Goten?" Pan lightened the mood, though Goten wasn't a fan of her snide remarks. The younger Trunks did laugh however, and his mother, who lit a cigarette with her frail hands, remarked that it had been the first time she had witnessed him laugh in ages.

"I can't wait to fight 'em!" Pan adjusted her gloves and hit her palm with her fist, already pumped up for battle in just the way her grandfather would be.

"Don't underestimate them…they're very smart, and are very co-ordinated in attacking." ' _This Trunks_ _sure sounds a lot like his older self when he gets all serious...',_ Goten thought.

"Well, _duh_ …they're twins!" Pan rolled her eyes. "Of _course_ they're well co-ordinated!"

"It's really hard to believe you're Gohan's daughter…" Bulma remarked, somewhat snidely, and drew on her cigarette, one brow arching as her teenage son was reminding her that she was supposed to stop smoking.

"Oh, I know dear...but it's not often I'm in a more stressful situation than normal…and don't act like you're the only one who doesn't have bad habits."

 _"Mom!"_ The teenager groaned, scratching at his arms nervously as he whispered to his mother. Goten glanced at his best friend who was rather silent in seeing this all unfold, but it was understandable. Anyone would be in shock at seeing a younger version of themselves, especially when that version lives in a nightmare. The older Trunks expressed deep sympathy towards his exhausted mother earlier, and showed her his ship, which she was incredibly proud of. Older Trunks didn't really know what his mother was referring to when she talked about his 'bad habits', and neither did Goten.

It didn't matter anyway. What mattered at that moment was sticking to their plan to kill the androids. The teenage Trunks had mentioned that he wanted to be the one to deliver the final blows to the androids, reiterating to them that this was his fight, and he had to take revenge for his fallen master and best friend. The others agreed, and made the final preparations. Bulma told them to be careful, as she geared up to take a look at the ship and they all said that they would be.

There were a million things on Goten's mind, and he was sure it was the same for the others, the younger Trunks especially, since he had been through so much. Goten presumed he would be grateful for their help, and he would subsequently help them in their quest. Even though his power was only fractionally better than Pan's, his help would be needed for lesser enemies. Goten knew only he could be the strongest hero due to his wish, but realised some help was needed.

 _'As long as I can be the one who saves Noudelle...it'll all be ok.'_ Goten thought, before at last sensing a spark of energy near Gingertown.

The group flew over there, but what they were expecting was nothing compared to what they had found…


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> Just a little note for you, ‘Future’ Trunks will be referred to as Mirai from here to make things easier. Enjoy!

CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.

The sound of her heels echoed down the empty corridor, yet Naife did not feel alone. The many portraits covering the walls were comforting enough, the mere illusion of his presence was good company.

He was destined to be hers, and hers alone.

It was the truth, undeniably. Their star signs fit together, and so did their names. At least, that's what she told herself anyway. Becoming Mrs. Naife Briefs was her main goal, and she would have the most spectacular wedding in all the universe, thanks to the power she was blessed with.

It was graciously given to her by that woman… _what was her name now?_

She had appeared in her bedroom that morning, saying some guy wished on some magic balls, allowing her power to be restored, right? It was hard to remember now, even though it had occurred just that morning.

Naife was offered a chance to rule.

Yes, the demon woman, with her staff…and another similar looking man had both promised Naife that she would get her revenge. How could Noudelle; that nobody, from some backwater town, become the girlfriend of _her_ man? Noudelle was awfully trashy. The badly blended ombre hair, those worn shoes, and her prudish outfits, she thought were certain to prevent Trunks from liking her; the girl didn't even have a body perfect enough like his to be worthy of his love!

Naife felt that enticing power surge through her as she became angry thinking about it, but calmed down, remembering that she, and everyone who had ever mocked her would be recompensed for their treason. She was their princess now, and she was the one calling the shots.

She thoroughly enjoyed the title, and the privileges that came with it. Her throne was one she constructed by testing her own powers, it was comfortable and very fancy, appearing almost identical to how she imagined it. Naife wondered if she could make a clone of Trunks appear to satisfy her every desire, but then remembered that she shouldn't spoil the fun like that, so she resisted; opting to merely admire his body through the gorgeous works of art on display which she had made from her own imagination.

After a while, her legs became tired from standing, especially in the heels she wore, so she sat back down on her throne and conjured a mirror, so that she could admire the beauty that came with her abilities. Gone were the glasses, the ones that she thought looked like his, and the hazel colour of her eyes. It was frightening in a sense, that just with the subtle changes, she looked very different, but not in a bad way.

Making the mirror disappear, she figured that everyone had gone, leaving her to her privacy at last in her new palace, and so she lay on her luxurious throne, her legs dangling over the side. Naife was careful not to hurt herself on the blades attached to her belt as she hitched her skirt up, imagining that it was her beloved Trunks touching her perfect body, making her feel all warm and tingly. Many a time, she imagined being bent over his desk, something that wretched Noudelle had likely undeservedly experienced, but soon it would become a reality, and the soft moans she let out would not be caused by herself, but by her soon-to-be husband.

"Enjoying yourself, princess?"

The familiar voice of that woman startled her. Moving her hand and sitting up, Naife turned to face the voluptuous demon, who had come alone this time. Naife blushed, adjusting the crown atop her head, and the lady, hips swaying sexily, approached her, the clicking of her heels louder than Naife's.

"Well?" The woman grinned, one hand gripping her waist, the other holding her staff, which had two golden points on either end, like a spear almost, making Naife wonder how it would feel to plunge it into someone, oh, how satisfying it would be...

"I asked you a question." The woman said, clearly fed up.

"Oh! Uh, yeah, I love this palace-" Naife spoke rapidly doing her best not to anger the intimidating demon.

"Good. Now…did you send Trunks and the others where I asked you?" She interrupted, and Naife had to think about it.

"You _did_ send them to that alternate timeline, didn't you?" Her tone was menacing, and Naife wasn't eager to find out what would happen to her, so she responded with, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did." She tried to hide her fear as best she could, but was leaning back into her seat away from the demon as she came closer asking how sure she was.

"I mean…you showed me the world full of destruction…I put them there!" Naife remembered controlling the rift after she left it, and she had the image of the destroyed town in her mind when changing its location once she returned to this place that the woman called the 'Demon Realm', so surely Trunks must be there.

"You…didn't send them to West City, did you, my dear?" The woman calmed down, her voice becoming sweet and syrupy again.

Naife recalled thinking of West City when she saw the town, but lied. "No, I don't think so…why would it be important anyway?" She did her best to not look guilty, and the woman answered, "There is another version of Trunks there,"

 _'Sounds great to me~!'_ Naife instantly thought of having two versions of her lover in bed with her, but was snapped back to reality by the woman, "If they meet...there could be another ally on their side…and I don't know if Cooler could take them all…"

"What? Are you going to hurt my Trunks?!" Naife's power flared up again, but the woman told her to relax as she paced back and forth, her heels clinking rhythmically, as she walked in a rather hypnotic way, talking to herself.

"We already have more of a challenge than I was hoping for...this girl called Pan, the daughter of Gohan."

Naife had no clue what she was rambling on about, but she hoped it wouldn't pose a threat to her fairytale wedding.

"If that girl has the same level of potential as her father…we could be dealing with a serious problem..." The woman fretted, but Naife reminded her, "They can't do that Super…thingy!" Naife had only heard of it today. She expected the news that her love was half-alien to bother her, but it only made her want to learn more about him. She bet that he looked even _more_ sexy when he transformed, perhaps blonde looked good on him?

 _'Of course, it does...anything looks good on him~!'_ She let her own wandering thoughts distract her.

"DAMN IT!" The woman stamped her foot impatiently, making Naife gasp. Was this woman trying to scare her to death?!

"Goten can transform! That means..." The woman dropped her stick in awe of her sudden realisation.

"Goten made both wishes!"

"I guess that makes sense…what should we do about it?" Naife still wasn't grasping the issue or how she knew that.

"You will continue doing what I say…looks like we need Goten alive too…yes…his power is stronger than Trunks'." The strange demon gathered herself together again, and began walking towards the door, using her magic to pull it open. Naife didn't know what to say, and could only hope that she didn't send them to West City.

Outside the door was a large, terrifying demon that was pink in colour, someone Naife hadn't seen before, who informed his fellow demon, "I have sent Cooler into that alternate world, sister."

Exiting the room, the woman chuckled, "Thank you, Dabura. I trust you have ensured he is strong enough?"

"Yes, Towa...his energy is certainly strong." He responded.

They went on, talking about their plan as they left down the corridor. Naife eventually couldn't hear them; they had warped away, and the princess was left to wonder why she was feeling so uneasy.

* * *

"Look! Down there!" Pan pointed to where a fight was occuring before they even arrived. Goten acknowledged that these were the same demons as before; shadowy figures with glowing red eyes, with blood trailing down from them, just like Naife, he noticed. They were attacking the androids, who were overwhelmed completely.

"S-should we help them?" Pan trembled in fear, and before either Goten or Trunks could suggest anything, Mirai cruelly stated, "No. They don't deserve it…in fact…I want in!" The teenager hastily raced into battle with a loud cry, believing that with the help of these creatures that emerged from the rift, he could finally defeat those monsters, and he would deal with these demons after.

One of the demons chuckled as they were about to fire a blast at the boy racing towards them, it would be impossible for him to dodge in time. Goten was just able to race in there in the nick of time, turning Super Saiyan to catch the boy, who had been struck by their powerful ki, the blast was no ordinary one, he could sense that much.

"Trunks!" Goten tried to shake the boy awake, but he only muttered Gohan's name. He was still breathing, thank Kami.

"Pan!" Goten flew over to her, the unconscious Mirai still in arms. "I need you to get somewhere safe!" Pan was now holding the boy, who was bigger than her, in her arms. She wanted to stay and fight, but knew she had to listen to her uncle. It was strange to see him so serious. Trunks unsheathed his sword, ready to do battle and stop these demons, who had now turned their attention to the Saiyan-hybrids, leaving the unconscious androids on the ground, bloody and beaten.

"Pan, go now!" Goten commanded her and she did as told.

They were outnumbered now, only by one. Trunks fought as hard as he could; he had forgotten how difficult a real battle could be, especially without Super Saiyan as a crutch. Goten, now the stronger of the two for once, knew this was his time to shine.

One demon tried to constrict his body with its powers, making a deep, malicious laugh as it attempted to restrain him. Letting out a battle cry, Goten raised his ki to the point to where the demon dissipated, like smoke, yet it reformed.

Trunks put his ki into his sword and swung at the two demons that ganged up on him. He sliced through the both of them, but they returned to their natural form.

 _'It's like Buu all over again!_ ' Goten realised. The situation seemed hopeless, but Goten knew not to give up so easily.

He turned around, sensing its aura behind him, but it had disappeared, along with its friends. The two men were about to search the area, but they heard a different laugh, along with some echoing claps.

It was coming from the rift.

"Bravo! That was excellent, boys!" The figure emerged, a huge purple aura surrounding his body. It matched the description of Frieza in his 4th form, but there was no way Frieza was that strong on Namek, his energy had to be higher than Super Saiyan level.

The Ice-Jin turned to the demons who had reappeared on the ground near the androids.

"Take those two back through the rift and report to whoever's in charge there!" He ordered them, and they immediately complied, making their exits, with the bodies of the androids in tow.

"What are you going to do with them?!" Trunks asked, pointing his sword towards this new threat.

"Curious, aren't you?" He bared his sparkling teeth.

"Don't worry… _all will be revealed soon."_ The half-Saiyans hardly had time to react before they were blown back by their opponent's malicious aura, which grew to the size of a house. Goten and Trunks figured that this person was related to Frieza by this point, but they had little time for speculation- that could wait for after the fight.

Goten got back up on his feet first. He tried to fire a sneaky kamehameha wave, to gauge this opponent's speed and power while he still stood, doing nothing but showing off his apparently endless surge of ki. Just as he was about to release the energy within his hands, his opponent appeared in front of him, and in less than a second, Goten was knocked down with one hit, losing the energy for his kamehameha.

As this new enemy slowly approached Goten, his energy making craters in the floor beneath him, Trunks leapt into battle, trying to defend Goten. Cooler blocked every swish and swipe with just one finger, and could have easily destroyed Trunks' sword if he desired, but he swatted him away like a fly with his long tail, causing him to land in a pile of rubble.

Goten was not defeated yet, and had no fear as this hideous villain stood over him, his claw like foot grasping his chest, with a finger pointed at him, ready to fire a red beam and, most importantly, the tail he used to hit his friend, about to coil around his neck. Without warning or hesitation, Goten sunk his teeth into his tail, causing him to yell out, _"YOU SAVAGE MONKEY!",_ and yank his tail out from Goten's jaws. He held his tail, which was red and throbbing from the bite, and blew on it to lessen the agony.

While he was distracted, Goten took advantage of the opportunity, striking the enemy from behind. He growled as he met the floor. Goten was about to fire another kamehameha, but yet again, he was stopped by his opponent vanishing.

_'Shit! He's so fast!'_

Goten was about to be hit from behind, but feeling his aura just in time, he vanished too, moving further away.

Trunks had gotten back up as well, and despite feeling weary, he was still ready to aid his friend by firing a Finish Buster at their enemy while he was distracted once again. It made contact with his opponent, by some miracle, slamming him into an abandoned building. He was weakened, even though he had started at an advantage.

The boys regained their stamina as their opponent got back up. Goten and Trunks got into their fighting stances. Cooler was about to have another outburst, filled with fury due to his humilation, but he switched his attitude quickly, his growls becoming a hearty laugh that echoed thoughout the desolate wasteland of a city, it was as if he had lost his mind.

"I don't see what's so funny!" Goten interrupted him. "You won't be laughing when we defeat you, so maybe if you tell us where you came from and why you're here, we'll go easy on you!" He attempted to be merciful in the same way his brother and father would be, providing their opponent a chance to apologize and make things right.

Again, he howled with laughter, "You little Saiyan brats?! Defeat _me,_ Lord Cooler?!" He bellowed, so incredibly confident. "You filthy apes get some lucky shots, and you think you can best _me?!_ Hmph…no wonder my brother did away with your people!"

"Then stop talking and fight!" Trunks goaded him further; his sword at the ready in his hands.

"Well, now...aren't you eager? You remind me of someone…" Cooler was not taking this seriously, which perplexed Goten, who believed that he could win if he and Trunks outsmarted him like they did a few moments prior.

"I wasn't going to do this…but you heathens have annoyed me now…"

Cooler let out a scream, which sounded almost pained as his transformation began, making Goten's blood run cold.

 _'What?! Gohan told me Frieza only had 4 forms in total, how is this happening!?'_ He wondered if perhaps this was the doing of that mysterious, evil energy that had been present within Naife and all those demons, but he was more concerned on how he would tackle it.

The dust surrounding Cooler faded, revealing his terrifying new form. His power had reached new heights, and Goten had no doubts that the rest of his abilities were improved. Like a flash of lightning he took out Trunks, knocking him out cold in an attack that was too fast for Goten to stop.

"You're lucky Towa wants you two alive…" Cooler growled, his voice sounding almost completely different now. His lizard-like feet made an odd, unsettling squeaking sound as he approached Goten, who still stood in a firm fighting stance, hiding his fear. When he and Trunks fought together, they were almost unstoppable, even without fusion. If only Cooler hadn't rendered him useless, Trunks could have fused with him and perhaps their combined strength could have been enough to take down their enemy or at least tire him out and make him revert to his previous form, maybe they could have even gone Super Saiyan, since Goten still had his ability, which was something to keep in mind, if they got through this fight.

"Who the hell is Towa, and what does she want?!" Goten acted like he was in control here, demanding to know what was going on. He had made the wish, and it was now his duty, no, his destiny to defeat this evil.

"Like I said earlier…" The monster leaned over Goten.

"All will be revealed soon." He was ready to fire one of those red beams from his fingertips, but Goten was luckily aware of their danger prior to his education on the events on Namek, and so he was able to duck and dodge accordingly, narrowly escaping being hit.

"What a fast, and clever monkey…" He chided towards him, seething.

"But soon, you'll run out of stamina and energy…" He cackled, truly believing he was superior.

"Your Saiyan powers will soon fade, and you will meet the same fate as your friend over there!"

Goten rushed in, ready to deliver heavy blows to Cooler…but on the other side of the city, Pan was also in a tough spot…

* * *

"Trunks! Wake up, please!" She shook the teen, hoping it would help him regain consciousness. A blast like that would have killed a normal person, but Saiyans were durable, and Pan knew that Vegeta was never one to give up a fight, and that his children were the same.

" _Please…_ I don't know what to do!"

Pan hated that she was so weak and such a child. Her father was right. She shouldn't be here; all she did was cause problems for people like her uncle, and for Trunks too.

She heard the fight occuring in the distance, fists clashing, blasts colliding. She wasn't the best at sensing energy, but she no longer felt the presence of those demons, or the faint ki of the androids that were clinging onto life. Now she felt an overwhelmingly strong energy, as well as her uncle's, who was greatly outmatched. Pan tried to sense Trunks, the older one, but he was unconscious just like Mirai.

Pan was hiding within an empty building, one far away from the action. She carried Mirai to the top floor, so that it was easier to see what was going on. Pan searched his pockets, to see if he had brought any senzu beans. They were empty, all apart from a folded-up photo of her father and Mirai. From a glimpse she found the picture to be quite sweet, but there would be more time to look at it, after everyone was safe.

 _'If I was a senzu bean…where would I be?'_ She first thought of Korin, but was he even alive here? The only place she could think of was the ship, which wasn't far from the rift, and where the fight was occuring. Perhaps she could just fly over unnoticed, sneak into the ship and grab the senzu beans to give to both Trunks' and then they could all overwhelm this new enemy?

It was the only thing she could think of.

Taking a deep breath, she stood up and turned to the broken window where she would fly out of. She hoped Mirai would be safe enough, and that her uncle was ok.

"C'mon, Pan! You're a strong girl! And you've always wanted a real adventure…you can do this!" She said aloud, clenching her fists and gathering her ki before zooming out into the dark, foggy sky.

Just as she was about to land near the ship, she heard her uncle cry out in pain. That monster had plummeted his fist into her uncle's gut, knocking him straight out of Super Saiyan. She watched in horror, her body trembling as she witnessed this creature strangling her uncle with its tail, making him gasp, and cough up blood.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Trunks, who lay bloody and beaten on the ground. There was no-one left to help her. These were her friends, and she had to protect them! Hearing her uncle scream again as the monster released him, then stood on his chest, its claws tearing his gi, the one her grandfather and even her own dad wore, was enough to finally make her snap.

Cooler turned to her, finally acknowledging her rising ki. "Hm? Oh, and I suppose _you're_ going to try and hurt me now, little girl?" It was hard to tell his emotion, his form hid most of his expressions.

"No…I'm going to **kill** you!" Pan swore, she could feel her blood boil, and her heart beating out of her chest. Energy surged through her, and even though she was known to have angry outbursts, this was a new form of rage she had never experienced before.

All she saw was red, and she would not be satisfied until she spilt that monster's blood, she would make him pay for hurting her friends!

 _"Masenko!"_ She fired the move her father had taught her. Cooler was too in shock to dodge. The attack launched him back, and had damaged his core, which was now bleeding. Pan panted heavily, that attack was usually less effective when she tried it, but her anger made her stronger, it seemed.

Cooler made a start for her, but it was as if her body moved on its own. Her attacks, though delivered by a rather small fist, carried some weight. Pan put all her force into them, and was somehow pushing her opponent back, and with a well-aimed Eagle Kick, she had knocked him into a building.

As soon as he regained his balance, she performed a solar flare, blinding him. Although her mind kept telling her to kill him, to fight harder, to make him suffer, she needed her opponent back where he belonged: with his other hellish friends, back through that rift.

Grabbing the end of his tail, she still had enough energy to spin him around, his weight making it difficult, yet she knew the ache in her arms was nothing like what her father had felt when he fought Cell. With a yell, she let go, causing him to be launched at a fast-enough speed that he could not fly back, sending him straight through the large rip in the sky.

Only now did the thought of him returning cross her mind, but luckily, it seemed that the rift became smaller and smaller, until it looked like it had disappeared altogether. Pan exhaled, letting her aura fade, and dropped to the ground. Despite her exhaustion, she had to continue, so dragged her now aching body, that still had adrenaline racing through it, over to the ship, where inside, Pan rummaged through the compartments, making a mess until when it seemed like all hope was lost, she found the little bag full of the beans.

She ate one herself, and felt much better, then she went over to the boys, shaking them awake and helped them eat a senzu bean.

Goten and Trunks groaned, as they got up, the battle feeling like a blur now.

"What happened to that Cooler guy?" Goten asked. Pan smugly told him that she took care of him all by herself, which was true. "You should have seen me, I had him all scared and crying for his mommy!" Perhaps that was a little bit of an exaggeration, but they wouldn't know.

" _You?!_ No way!" Goten's jaw dropped and Trunks laughed, "Really, Pan? You couldn't even beat me in a sparring match!"

"It's the truth! Who else could have?! I left other Trunks in some building, so it had to be me!" Pan tried to convince them. The boys looked at each other, it was clear they didn't totally believe her by the looks they gave, but they did know Pan was the only one there, so it was a possibility, just an unlikely one to them.

"You sure he didn't just head home?" Her uncle asked, half-joking as they flew over to Mirai, Pan leading the way.

"No! He would have taken you, like those demons took the androids, wouldn't he?!" She wished someone was there to see her. It was so amazing, but she wasn't sure if the feeling was all that pleasant, now that she really thought about it. There was a bizarre urge to just kill him, to be brutal and make him bleed, which wasn't something her father or Grandpa would do, was it? Imagine her father seeing her fight like that…maybe that would prove to him that she was indeed a responsible, trustworthy and strong young lady.

"We're here." She almost flew past the building; her mind was so concerned over what had just occurred. Giving the bean to Mirai, he was shocked as he sat up and was told what had happened.

"Wow, Pan! You really are your father's daughter!" To her surprise, the teenager had gotten up and hugged her, his embrace making her feel quite happy. She was glad to be seen as a hero, and a friend to this version of Trunks, especially since he held her father in such high regards.

Mirai was the only one to fully believe Pan. She was hoping to learn more about him, and it became apparent that they would have quite a bit of time to spend together, as they waited for the rift to make its inevitable return…


	10. Hope and Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations! You made it to chapter 10!  
> This one is one of my favourites, so enjoy!

Evening came.

The events of the day had left all of them shaken. It was crazy to believe that this morning their lives were perfectly normal until that rift appeared in the sky.

Now they had discovered that their powers were limited, except for Goten, strangely, and they had been through battles with new enemies, with unclear motives. No matter what, they were determined to continue this quest, to save Noudelle and restore the peace.

"Is there any way you could detect the energy change that happens when the rift reopens, mom?" Trunks asked this version of his mother, who was younger in this world, yet exhaustion and stress had aged her. Exhaling cigarette smoke, she shook her head, "Sorry, but we can hardly detect the androids with Earth technology...I guess you'll have to stay here until it returns."

"And when it comes back, I'll go with you guys!" Mirai added, but Bulma was having none of it.

"No way, mister! You're staying right here!"

"But why?! They took the androids, there's no danger here!" He argued back.

"Yes, and let's keep it that way…I don't want you getting into trouble."

Mirai continued arguing, "This is so unfair! The androids are mine to kill, I need to do this…for Gohan!"

"Trunks, we have just lost Gohan, and it broke my heart the way it did yours...I am not prepared to lose you too!" His mother cried. She was always so overprotective, but Mirai hated feeling underestimated. Gohan didn't believe he was strong enough, and wanted to protect him…but, if only he had let him come too. If only his master hadn't had knocked him out cold, perhaps together they could have survived another day. It was Mirai's fault he was dead, he was so weak and pathetic, or at least that's what he told himself.

Trunks tried to help, believing he understood what his younger self was feeling. "Hey, I really think you should listen to mom, she-"

"Oh, what?! _You're_ gonna lecture me now?! You know nothing about me, or my life, so why don't you just go back into whatever fancy, safe hole you crawled out of?!" Mirai rudely responded, pushing past him, and slamming the door as he left.

"I'm sorry about him-" Bulma wiped a tear and nervously laughed, apologizing to the matured version of her son.

"No, it's fine...I was known to be a handful too." Trunks reassured his mother.

"Yeah, me and Trunks got into our fair share of trouble…" Goten mentioned.

As the adults kept talking, Pan snuck off, wondering where Mirai had gone. They were in the underground level of Capsule Corp, a fitting place to be living in an apocalyptic world. She found a room with stored food, cup ramen, tea and water on the shelves, as well as a small bathroom and kitchen. They had constructed their own little home below ground level, and although quaint, it needed some repairs, but at least it was better than what most people alive here were probably living in.

She opened another door after going down some stairs, where she found Trunks in a frigid store room, lying on a bed, wearing earphones. There was another bed on the other side that had nothing on it, as well as other bits and pieces of furniture and junk that Mirai had salvaged.

"Is this…your bedroom?" Pan asked.

"No, it's a kitchen." His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Haha. Very funny." Pan folded her arms as she walked closer, eyes darting to many things scattered around the room.

"Why is that bed empty?" She inquired but he had his earphones in. It wasn't that he didn't hear her, no he most certainly did hear her loud mouth, it was more that he could not be bothered to answer.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" She stood over him, hands on her hips. Mirai finally answered, picking up a manga from the table beside him, and acting as if he didn't care, "Yeah that's Gohan's bed. He stayed here a lot."

Pan didn't know what to say to that, so awkwardly asked what manga he was reading, to which he replied, "Why do you care?"

"What's your problem?!" She snatched the book out of his hands to gain his attention. "A few hours ago, you were all smiley and thankful towards me, now you're just being plain rude to everyone!"

"Yeah, because I was in a good mood then…and I _am_ grateful for you saving me and everyone…I just really want to be left alone right now, ok?" He stood up, taking his manga back, then threw himself back onto the bed.

"…Dr. Slump, huh? I've read that one." Pan kept on annoying him. "Hey, you know, you could just sneak off with us when we leave?"

Mirai put the book down and took out his earphones, sitting up attentively. "How?"

"Well…when older you was getting ready to leave, he left the ship door open, so I snuck in and only revealed myself when the ship took off." Pan sat on the edge of his bed, making it creak as she did so.

"Wow…were they angry?" Mirai couldn't believe how fearless this girl was.

"Kinda…but I've proved myself useful, haven't I?" Pan grinned, thinking about everyone who ever doubted her.

"Why weren't you allowed to go in the first place? You seem pretty strong." Mirai was incredibly impressed, but he wondered why Pan hadn't already been recognized for her potential.

"My father said I couldn't." Pan rolled her eyes, saying a sentence she had said many a time.

"Hey…you're lucky he didn't render you unconscious to stop you…" Mirai surprised himself at his own bitter tone.

"Huh?"

"Nothing…" Mirai changed the topic of conversation onto the rift, asking about how it started in their world, not wanting to think about Gohan anymore.

At this moment, Goten was downstairs with Trunks, discussing what to do with Mirai…

* * *

"You really think he should be coming with us?" Trunks raised an eyebrow, sipping the tea his mother had prepared for him. Goten didn't much like tea, so just ate the biscuits, ignoring the sting in his heart when they reminded him of Noudelle.

"Yeah…he isn't as strong as you were at that age, but it isn't his fault…and clearly my brother saw something in him." Goten gave his reasoning, but Trunks still wasn't fully convinced.

"I don't know…this journey is more dangerous than we first thought. He almost died today!" Trunks was as cautious as ever.

"Yes, and now he'll get a Zenkai if he's lucky!" Goten looked on the bright side, trying to avoid the thought of Noudelle. Was she suffering right now…because of him?

"Goten?" Trunks snapped him back to reality. "Why are you staring at the cookies?"

"Huh…sorry, I was just thinking about something."

"About what?" Trunks could tell there was something wrong; he knew Goten like the back of his hand, after all.

"Uh, about younger you!" He lied. "We should give him a chance! You should try to convince your mom." Goten said, attempting to persuade him.

"But you heard her, she doesn't want to lose him! She has no-one left here…and we can't bring her, and risk her life too!" Trunks exclaimed doggedly, he still wasn't understanding.

"Trunks, he wants to kill the androids. They've killed Gohan and everyone we love here, so obviously he's in a lot of pain. He doesn't have much battle experience, but he can be useful. Maybe you two will get along…since you're kinda the same person?" Goten explained his thinking, grinning when he heard Trunks finally agree.

"Hey, boys! Do you want anything else to eat?" Bulma came back in at just the right time.

"No, we're fine, mom, thank you." Trunks politely declined, before Goten could ask for their whole inventory of food.

"You sure? I thought you guys haven't eaten since this morning, it's almost 9pm now." Bulma glanced down at her Capsule Corp watch, an older model, Goten noticed, the type he had when he was a kid. It was a present from Trunks.

"Maybe later, mom…I kinda need to talk to you about something first." Trunks took a deep breath, knowing already how stubborn his mother was.

"Sure, what's up, sweetie?" Bulma drank some tea, and took a biscuit as Trunks began.

"Well, Goten and I think that…the me here should come with us when we set off." He braced for her yelling, leaning back in his chair. One thing Goten and Trunks had in common was that their mothers were loud, argumentative and overprotective…though most mothers were like that, anyway.

"Oh, not you too!" She said, exasperated . "I thought you'd be at least a _bit_ more mature, being older, and supposedly wiser!"

"Mom, just hear me out!" Trunks pleaded, doing his best to argue his case. Goten would support him, of course.

"Alright then…" Bulma calmed down.

"Look, I understand your concerns…but, do you _really_ think I would let myself die?" Trunks began.

"Yeah, even if he did, we have Piccolo in our world!" Goten added, earning a side-eye from Trunks.

"Not helping, Goten." His best friend shook his head.

"Sorry." Goten decided to stay quiet and take another biscuit.

"Mom, I'm sorry you lost everything…but maybe there's a way to make things right. If you tell everyone the danger is gone when we leave, you can begin to rebuild…we'll do our best to figure out a way to fix this world, but I don't know if our Dragonballs can revive anyone or help…" Trunks was incredibly sympathetic, taking his mother's hand in his own.

"I'm glad you grew up to be someone so polite and kind…I mean, my Trunks is too, he's just having an understandably hard time…but maybe he'll come to look up to you two the way he did Gohan?" Bulma gathered her thoughts on the situation.

"Just…give me some time to consider it ok? I'll tell you what I think after dinner." Bulma finished her tea, and Trunks helped her take the stuff back into the kitchen. Goten was glad that he had gotten through to them, now all he could do was wait, and eat a decent meal.

Meanwhile, in the depths of the Demon Realm, plans were being made and put into motion…

* * *

Naife made her prisoners into slaves. They had to work nonstop, making statues to celebrate her and Trunks, paint the walls of the castle and prepare decorations for hours on end without rest, or the guards would whip them. All these prisoners were humans that Naife had held a grudge on. Noudelle figured she must have written down whenever someone had hurt her, because there were tons of people, frightened and confused, many of them not even recognising Naife, even when she showed a picture of her unpossessed form.

Noudelle had only been there, for what, a day? Yet it was clear how things worked. Possibly the worst part was, that at certain times, names were to be called. These people would be personally tortured by Naife. Noudelle overheard the guards mentioning that Naife had specific punishments for each of them, depending what they had said or done to her, which was very petty, but not unlike her.

Only one person had been her first victim, some cliché popular girl who had ostracised Naife in middle school. She hadn't returned yet, and it was already dark. Noudelle didn't know how time worked in this place. Were there suns or moons? Did time flow the same? Regardless, the labor made it seem like she had been scrubbing on her hands and knees for days, her shoulders aching.

 _'I've got to sneak off somehow…maybe I can find the love potion in her bedchambers?'_ Yes, it was a solid plan. When it was morning, she would act like she had been chosen to clean her majesty's room, then steal the potion, or better yet, get rid of it…though the thought of using it on someone herself did cross her mind…

She could think of what to do with it later, when she actually obtained it.

Once the day was over, the guards put everyone back in their individual cells, watching over them as they slept on the freezing, hard rock floor with only a single flat pillow, which felt as solid as the ground, and a blanket as thin as tissue paper for warmth. Noudelle did her best to get to sleep, her thoughts drifting as she did so. She was unafraid, however, ready to take on the next challenge…much like young Mirai and Pan…

* * *

"What music are you listening to?" Pan leaned closer to him, attempting to listen to the music from outside. The two had been idly chatting for a while, getting to know each other a little. There was nothing better to do anyway. It was clear that Mirai was becoming rather annoyed by Pan, but he never had much company, so he just accepted it.

"Just some music I liked to listen to with Gohan. We used to play it out loud when we walked through the city…it would signal to people hiding that they were safe and it was just a big morale boost, I guess." He smiled sweetly, fondly remembering it.

"Can…I listen to it?" Pan asked, hoping it wasn't a step too far to suggest that.

"Sure…" Mirai put one side of the earphones in her ear and turned up the volume on his little mp3 player.

He began the song from the beginning:

_"Bit by bit, I'm falling under your spell,_

_Your smile's all I need to see to know we'll_

_Leave this endless darkness,_

_Won't you come along with me?_

_Hold my hand…"_

"A sweet, sappy love song?" Pan giggled, not expecting it.

"Shut up…it's more than that..." Mirai blushed.

As she listened to more of the song, she was confused, so she wondered, "What's the point of playing such a happy song in a sad place?"

Mirai answered, "I used to think that too…that it was kinda ironic…but eventually, I understood when Gohan told me that one day we'd be playing all our happy songs in a beautiful, lively city, full of people…he said we'd be there…together, walking down the same streets that used to be full of destruction…and everyone would be happy, like in our songs."

"I see…so, do you have more songs or-" She was going to be even more inquisitive, but paused once she noticed Mirai was upset again.

"Are you cryi-"

"No!" He defended himself, his voice cracking.

"It's ok to cry…" Pan comforted him again.

"I've already cried enough today…Gohan would think I'm weak!" Mirai sobbed.

"He wouldn't…he's suffered through loss too; he would understand how you feel…I know it's hard-"

"That's all I ever hear! And don't even act like you understand, you're just a spoilt brat, I can tell! The most you've ever lost is probably your phone privileges!" Mirai cut her off, hurting her feelings. Pan was ready to fire insults back, but she could see that he didn't really mean what he'd said.

"Trunks, I want us to be friends, I wanna help you, and see you be happy!" Pan attempted to reach out to him, hoping he wouldn't be rude again.

"What if I'll **never** be happy?!" His voice broke under the weight of such words.

"You will be! I promise…everything gets better." Pan hugged him, but he pushed her off. Mirai paced around the room as he tried to explain how he felt.

"I mean…Gohan always told me to have hope…because hope is stronger than fear, and despair…but I…" He stopped as he saw Gohan's gi out of the corner of his eye, folded up in the wardrobe.

"I just don't know anymore." The teen sighed. Pan didn't know what to tell him. Her father always had good advice, even though she never really listened.

"Do you ever just wish you could sleep and just…never wake up?!" He asked.

Pan could still faintly hear the music pouring out from the earphones. Outside the room, she heard Bulma talking to the boys, and the savoury scent of curry filled the air. Why did time stand still at that moment? And why did her usually loud voice feel like it had disappeared? Pan always had something to say, so why didn't she then?

"I-" She managed to choke back tears and make her voice return. _'Why do I feel like crying?'_

"If I had the option…I'd just **die**." Mirai blankly stated.

"You don't mean that."

 _"Pan! Trunks! Come have dinner!"_ Bulma yelled from another room.

"Coming, mom!" Mirai responded, his voice sounding normal again, as if he hadn't just said something incredibly dark. Something about him intrigued Pan. He was seemingly nothing like present Trunks. No, Mirai was a whole different person, and Pan was worried about him. Regardless, Pan hid any signs of sadness, and followed Mirai out to have dinner, where there wasn't much.

"I'm not the best cook…but you already knew that, I guess!" Bulma spooned some rice into Pan's plate, a faint smile across her face.

"Trunks, why didn't you make your apple pie?" Bulma asked Mirai, who was lost in his own thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, well when I was flying to the orchard, I saw these guys, I thought Pan was a survivor." The teenager answered, then shoved a forkful of meat into his mouth. Pan thought the food didn't taste very nice, but that was rude to say, especially since she had lived in comfort while people here were suffering.

"Apple pie? My father makes the best ones ever!" She smiled at him, trying to further the conversation, and forget the one they had earlier.

"Yeah, where do you think I learnt it, **dumbass**?" Mirai rolled his eyes at her, and was chastised by Bulma.

Pan couldn't quite figure out how he felt about her, why was he so hot and cold?

"Don't be rude to guests! Pan is so nice to you, she's Gohan's daughter so be nice back!" Bulma told him. "I should change my mind about letting you go with them just because of that!" She revealed Mirai was going, and Pan didn't know what to make of it.

"Wait… _really,_ mom? You're letting me go?!" He grinned.

"Yes, thank your older self and Goten…they're the ones who convinced me!" His mother said, while she gave Pan more food, even though she really didn't want it.

Mirai didn't thank them properly, but Pan supposed he had his reasons not to. She was just glad to see him happier, even though she still didn't quite forgive him for what he had said. _'Why do I care about his feelings…he clearly couldn't give a crap about mine!'_

"You guys should stay the night, seeing as that weird thing hasn't come back." Bulma suggested, and even though Trunks, being polite, unlike his younger self, said that there was space in the ship to sleep, Bulma insisted. Pan was told to sleep in Mirai's room, and Bulma would find somewhere else for the boys.

"Trunks, be a good host, ok?" Bulma laughed as she went and found Mirai the bedsheets for the empty bed.

Pan couldn't refuse staying with him, for obvious reasons. His bored, yet unbothered expression made it hard for Pan to tell if he didn't want her there. _'Maybe he wouldn't want me to be in this bed since my father would sleep here…'_ She thought, and resolved she would try and be as sensitive with him as possible, like earlier.

It was nice to have a stomach full of food and a bed, though not-so-warm. Pan was about to talk to Mirai again, but he put his earphones back in and grabbed his manga, shutting her out. Pan decided to just brush her teeth, and go to sleep. Trunks had brought the capsules from the ship here, so they had all they needed. Pan took the toiletries capsule into the small bathroom, which had a spider in the corner.

When she came back, Mirai was still hardly noticing her. She wanted to look around the room, especially when she saw a pile of books like the ones Goten had brought to her house recently, but didn't want to bother Trunks or be rude. There was nothing else to do, so she fell asleep, her eyes feeling heavy as she stared at the picture of her father, Mirai and Bulma that was in a broken frame on the ground.

* * *

Mirai glanced over at Pan, who was soundly asleep. Her blankets were thicker than his because she wasn't used to the cold temperatures down there. He saw her when she came back in, wearing an orange pyjama set, the same colour as her bandana.

_'Ugh…I'm such an idiot!'_

He thought about his prior actions. _'Girls are meant to like when guys are mean to them, right? Especially when they're feisty ones like Pan!'_ He recalled reading it in some magazine he found, giving advice to teenagers. He felt like an idiot for telling Pan all those things about Gohan, and the music, and about his life, why would _she_ care? She wouldn't like him now; he had insulted her multiple times. He hated being so defensive, what was he scared of?

The androids were gone and now he was going to leave this place, finally, on an adventure, just like his master on Namek, so why did he still feel plain awful?

He didn't even know if he had meant that if he had the option to die, he would take it, but presumed he had just made himself sound like a sad loser.

To stop thinking about it, he decided to get changed. It was alright if he just got changed there, wasn't it? Pan was asleep, after all. He took off the oversized jumper, and his pants, then tried to find something suitable. He threw on an old T-shirt and some sweatpants that got torn in battle, then got comfortable in bed, even though he had no intention of sleeping. He never liked to sleep much anyway, because of those horrific nightmares, and he especially hated it now that Gohan was gone.

Those words still hurt:

**Gohan. Was. Gone.**

And he wasn't coming back.

Turning his attention to Pan yet again, he wondered what Gohan… _his_ Gohan would make of her. He would love her, surely? Yes, Mirai could see how she was like his master, and a part of that hurt him. The way she was strong, yet gentle, and how she wanted what was right, was just like him.

Still, there was something more about her that he wanted, he just couldn't quite grasp it. He had never felt this way about anyone…it made him want to live.

For her.

* * *

Gohan held his daughter's note in his hands. He had already read it so many times that day. Pan must have written it in a hurry before she ran onto the ship, the handwriting was messy, and the paper was ripped out of a book.

_'I want to prove to you I'm not a little girl, daddy.'_

Was a sentence that stuck out to him.

Had he been treating her like a kid?

It was only right to. It was crazy that she was finally a teenager, but how could he let go of his little girl? Gohan wished his father was there to see him reach 13. He wondered what his father would make of all this.

Gohan stood at the balcony, sighing as he looked towards where the rift was, where his daughter had gone into. He had no idea where she was now. His mind only thought of the worst, and he felt so helpless. His daughter was out there, with only Trunks and Goten, and only one of them could go Super Saiyan. It was his fault she had gone. He never let Pan have her freedom, and didn't let her have much fun. Gohan never minded the way his mother was with him, and thought he was firm but fair with Pan, yet he didn't understand her.

"She's going to be fine out there." Piccolo startled him, appearing from behind, and standing beside him.

"How can you be so sure?" Gohan replied, looking down at the note again.

"You don't believe in her…why?" His teacher and close friend asked.

"I just don't know what she's up against…"

"Goku didn't quite know what you were up against when you fought Cell. But he believed in you. I didn't, because I still saw you as that wailing child that needed my protection."

"What are you saying, Piccolo? Cell was different." Gohan recalled the experience.

"You don't understand that Pan isn't a mere infant…she shares your potential, but I don't know how much. I understand you aren't a fighter…your father did not, but Pan wants to be. You were afraid fighting Cell…I wanted to help you, but Goku knew it didn't matter that you were scared and in pain, because he knew your abilities. When Goku put his faith in you, you had it in yourself…Pan could have been so much stronger, perhaps a Super Saiyan if you had been tougher on her…she would have learned not to prove herself to you because you already believed in her, but to her enemies through battle."

Gohan couldn't respond to Piccolo's wise words.

He could only hope they were all ok.


End file.
